The Long Game
by Oraeliaa
Summary: The story of a shy, perfectionist Kunoichi and her exuberant neighbor, an unfortunate accident that lead to him finally recognising her existence, and her attempts to move them from strangers, to friends to something more. Until now, she's always played the long game, but the time for patience is over.
1. Chapter 1

She was invisible as she crouched in the open window, rain lashing at her covered form. She'd waited, watching the establishment for any patterns, and knew there would be a guard rotation in exactly 10 minutes, and a waitress passing through for fresh bottles of wine sporadically, for the patrons below. Roughly every 6 minutes, give or take 30 seconds.

But Hayami Ake didn't give 30 seconds, no, she liked exacts. She slowed her breathing, ever the professional; and allowed her heart to slow, calm settling over her as she darted from the thick wooden ledge and into the room opposite.

9 minutes to pick the lock.

The tools slid from her thin thigh pouch with ease, and she crouched, calves burning after stationary hours in the trees opposite. The tumblers moved within, and she slipped like a ghost into the darkened room; it's occupant leaving an hour earlier. He was not set to return for another.

She quickly dried any damp spots outside the door and closed it gently, silent as a whisper.

She surveyed the room. Medium sized, and matching the construction on the outside. No hidden walls. Rich with books-the owner was obviously a well read man, surprising, judging by the rather limited vocabulary she'd heard him use with his staff and customers over the last 2 days. Sliding her hand into her waist pocket, she popped a sweet food pill into her mouth to quieten the rumbling in her stomach and smiled. It could just be for show, she supposed.

These books were not the ones she was interested in today though; though...she quickly darted to one of the cases and pulled a slim book out, stashing it in her thin pack. She'd been after the third installments for weeks; and given that it was nowhere near the first and second that were annoyingly in separate shelves entirely, she guessed he wouldn't.

Unless he had a penchant for pirate fiction and horrific book organisation as well as gambling houses.

She very much doubted that.

No, it was the book on his desk that was her mission today. A thick tome; filled to the edges with money owed, money given, lended and spent. She settled behind the desk, enjoying the feeling of the soft downy cushion beneath her, and pulled a notebook of her own. Rapidly scanning the pages, she coped the first month rapidly, the shorthand neat and perfectly parallel.

She forced her heart and hands to remain steady as she rapidly scanned and copied the pages, noting repeated names. Large transactions, both in and out. Anything to indicate this was no simple gambling house.

She finished, her hour stub candle reaching it's end just as the final errand girl ran past the door. Setting the desk exactly how she found it, she slid the chair back to it's normal resting place and pulled the fabric strip from the bottom of the door, where it had been blocking the light of the small candle from the room. She listened, and only when she knew the occupants were in their preferred positions, the guard around the east corner and the wine carrier down the west stairs, did she move. She slid out of the door, crouching to quickly relock it, then darted like an adder out to the window, and into the tree opposite. She lay against the willowy branch, watching the room she'd observed for the past few days.

Watched as the guards rotated like clockwork, watched as the continuously running wait staff saw to their patrons, exhaustion rapidly taking over their faces. And finally, watching as the portly man entered his room, unlocking it and retiring for the evening. Her breath fluttered as she watched, waiting to see if he would notice the book, notice the desk.

It had been a risky move, a stupid one, but...worth it.

Especially as he left the room and retired to his own for the evening, completely unawares.

She pursed her lips and pushed out a large breath, shimmying backwards out of the tree and onto the rockface behind. Time to head home.

* * *

The town gates ahead of her were a welcome sight, feet tired from hours of travelling and mouth stained with the taste of food pills. Her mission had only been a short one for her line of work, but there's no time to break when you're an infiltrator-and she always had to take at least three diversions on the way home in case of any unwanted ninja following her trail; and couldn't stop to sleep.

But she was finally home; and her body wanted with all its might to automatically walk her to her small home on the outskirts of town, but she had to report in first. The seat in the hokage's office was a joy on her strained body, as the one in the office 8 hours before had been; and she made a note to pick up the pace in her training, she shouldn't be this tired after such a standard mission. She'd allowed her stamina to get sloppy-if her sensei saw her bone tired after a simple 8 hours of running, of only 4 days on a few hours sleep? Inoki-sensei would have her pulling double rounds for that sort of nonsense.

She pulled the notebook from her slim back pocket and informed them of the most pertinent information. The debt the man had been in, the deposits put into the business. Huge deposits, pulling them from disrepair and into profits. Huge profits.

Not only did they owe the leaf increased taxes as the land right holders of the establishment; they were likely involved in nefarious activities. She hadn't seen any of the expected powders and ointments from her location, or within the main office, but she'd smelt the often overlooked burnt cinnamon aroma that came with a particularly nasty strain of Okam; one of which they certainly didn't want to see entering their town- or any other for that matter.

They would meet again tomorrow to go over a strategy of entry; decide whether to use subtlety and use assassins to kill or threaten the owner and take over the business as their own; or to go in hard and make an example of the establishment. She wanted to observe for longer, using a team posing as patrons to get proof of their dealings; but Tsunade-Sama was an unpredictable woman, and who knew what her preference would be.

Hayami bowed, spoke to Shizune about a meeting time the following morning, and steadily headed home, the familiar ground under her feet guiding her almost without the need to think to her door.

Her home was small; but perfectly suited to the single woman. It was conjoined to a second house, identical to her own. They were the same colour, style, size and likely layout; though there was one major difference-a quiet and unassuming woman lived in one half, whereas the loudest, most brightly shining person she had ever met lived in the other. But, she wouldn't have it any other way.

She found her neighbor charming, an anomaly of cheeriness and life among what was often a sarcastic, grumpy profession. Hayami herself knew that she was too used to blending into the background, perfect for her line of work but not so much for attempting to introduce herself to the fast paced man next door. She'd given up trying to give him his housewarming present after a week of missing him as he ran down the street, not always on his feet, and had instead placed the small plant on his doorstep, a note reading "welcome to your new home!" with a small happy face. Her steady, quiet nature was perfect for her work though. Less loud fighting and killing, no dark assassinations; just watching. Observing and sneaking into places, _reclaiming_ things from people they didn't belong to and discovering information for the town. She was an easily forgettable face. Slightly tan skin from laying in the sun, dark green hair usually held up in a bun; a light spattering of freckles, muddy brown eyes. Yeah, Hayami Ake knew she was perfect for the role of easily missed, easily forgotten, never noticed.

She could hear him singing to himself through the thin wall, a smile unconsciously gracing her dainty features as she made tea and instant noodles and carried both into the bedroom, discarding her tactical black jumpsuit and leather over harness in the hamper and letting her hair down, groaning with happiness as the pressure created by the tight bun was lessened and a wave of dark green cascaded around her face. The singing had become a soft rhythmic thumping from the room next to her, typical of this time of night. Most people would blush and think sleep was the last thing happening in the room next door between the thumping and soft groans, as she had when he'd first moved in-but no woman had ever entered that house as far as she'd seen; and unless he kept a secret lover locked within the walls, she had no reason to blush. The counting was what had given it away, solved the ever nightly puzzle, and she slurped through her beef noodles, feeling guilty for her fluffy pajamas and soft sheets when she too probably should be doing pushups.

Another night perhaps. Tonight she was drained, she felt like the life had been sucked from her and whatever had done it had spat her out after a good chew; aching everywhere. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, the half eaten noodles abandoned on the bed side table.


	2. Chapter 2

Hayami felt groggy when she awoke, stumbling up from bed on shaking legs. She groaned, knowing how much her calves had ached yesterday and hating herself for not stretching out, not distributing the acid build up before sleeping. She bet she'd cramped in her sleep and had been so dead to the world the sharp pain hadnt even woken her up. Gently slapping her cheek to wake herself, she slowly stepped forwards- trying to ignore the spinning of the room and focus instead on getting to the shower. The sweet, life restoring shower. It was no wonder the meeting with the council and Hokage yesterday had been short, smelling herself now had her grimacing at the smell. They probably couldnt wait to get her out of the office.

Rubbing her eyes as she made it into the bathroom, she felt like she'd downed a bottle of sake before bed; head pounding and eyes hurting just to open them. Her pants tangled as she dropped them to step into the hot spray but she caught herself, regaining balance. "Well, at least there's a kunoichi in here somewhere" she muttered, glaring at her own reflection in the small, rapidly fogging mirror.

The water made her feel human again at least, stripping the grime she hadnt bothered to wash off last night and making her sigh with enjoyment. She let the water wash over her frame as she sat on the small shower stool, rubbing her slowly unknotting muscles- tired from being in one position for 2 days, then forced to run for 3; a punishment for anyone. Hunger gnawed at her as she scrubbed the grime from her hair, the flowery scent of the shampoo awakening her now ravenous appetite. She knew that the half ramen she'd almost knocked onto the floor upon waking wasn't the most nutritious tea, but she still should have finished it. Her body must have been crying out for calories; she'd grab breakfast on the way to the Hokage's office, possibly rice porridge with pickled plum…

But first, she had to get up.

At which point everything went very wrong. The sudden movement from sitting to standing made her head spin, and everything went incredibly, suddenly black.

"Oooh" she groaned, moving so the heel of her hand was against her forehead. The water wasn't hitting her on the face, surely it should still be running...Hayami tried not to think of her water bill, instead focusing on sitting up.

"Sensei she's awake!"

Now that _was_ unexpected. Her eyes shot open, then immediately closed again as the bright bathroom light only exacerbated her horrendous headache. Gently this time, she opened one eye, and then the other-only to come face to face with a small version of her neighbor, and a pretty girl with buns

"Shut up Lee, not so loud" the girl reprimanded with a harsh whisper, slapping the small doppleganger on the back of the head. "Go get sensei"

Three things at that moment became apparent, as her ninja training kicked into overdrive and instincts took over.

There were children in her house

Her neighbor was in her house

She had likely been seen completely naked by both of the above

Oh god. Surely there were rules about exposing oneself to children? Could she be arrested? Surely not, she hadn't chosen for the children to come in and see her prone naked body…

Her train of thought was broken by the girl smiling in her vision. "I covered you with your robe, don't worry. Do you think you can sit up?"

"I...thank you. I think I can, but my ankle feels pretty twisted"

"It's alright. The boys can be pretty oblivious, well not Neji, he's very observant, but even they noticed that maybe I should come in and cover you before we moved you out of the shower-they stormed in and then back out again so quickly, I swear they were beet red!"

He had seen her naked. Oh God. Normally when the object of your affections sees you naked it's intentional...she'd hoped for candles, an attractive neglige, for him to actually know her name. Instead she got crumpled heap in what felt like a pile of her own shampoo, with sopping hair and unshaved...well...everywhere. Glamorous

Onto more pressing matters than her own destroyed possibilities of romance, "how did you find me?"

"We were grabbing some weights for today's training from Gai-Sensei's, and heard the crash through the wall-you'd knocked over your shower caddy as you fell and the metal crashed against the dividing wall. We heard it all the way downstairs!"

"Oh...thank you for coming over-i'm sorry, I have three locks, they must have been terribly annoying to pick"

"About that...Gai will replace your door"

She groaned, lying back down. Her door. He'd kicked through her door. Knowing the training sessions she'd seen him doing in the garden when definitely not peeking on him through the bathroom window she knew he probably kicked through it like soft mochi. A small price to pay for being found though-at least it was only a sprained ankle. She couldnt imagine the embarrasement if she'd have faced the worst possibility; drowning the small inch of water that collected at the bottom of the shower.

She threw herself upright again as the aforementioned man came in through the bathroom door, and heaved as the action made the room spin. The unnamed girl saw the intent and tightened the robe covering the woman's modesty, that had previously begun sliding open again. "Good morning! We heard the crash and came straight over, do you need to be taken to the hospital? I will carry you there immediately or run 1000 laps of Konoha!"

What? She couldnt tell if it was the man's exhuberant personality; or possibly a concussion.

"I don't think I need the hospital, but if you could help me up it would be appreciated, I don't think I can use my left hand and I know my right foot is out of the game"

She'd expected him to grasp her left hand and help her hobble to the bed whilst she controlled her blushes and shame then bid him on his way; took a couple of pain-killers from her bedside table and strapped her foot and hand. Then gave up being a kunoichi entirely out of shame. What she got was an unexpected full princess lift that set her pulse racing. He gently deposited her on the bed, and lifted her foot gingerly, propping it on pillows as if it were made of slightly soggy glass.

"Th...thank you" she stammered, trying to ignore the way his hands were gently resting on her calf. He pulled back, grinning, eye in a wink and thumb pointed towards himself as he explained "It was the neighborly thing to do, the green beast of Konoha cant leave his dearest neighbor in pain like that can he?"

The girl, currently drying the floor of her bathroom groaned, then laughed. "Gai-sensei don't be lame!"

Hayami laughed gently-definitely the man, not the possible concussion. "It's not lame, it's very heroic" she said softly, smiling at the man who had returned to her foot, swiftly wrapping it in bandages. Meeting his eyes for the first time since he'd moved in a year ago, she couldn't help but feel this was the most awkward, horrific, embarrassing...and beautiful morning of her life.


	3. Chapter 3

I have a meeting with the Hokage! Oh god I had to be there...she scrambled for the clock, blinking at the side of her bed, an hour ago!

Her motley crew of rescuers, Gai, Lee, and Tenten as she'd learnt the young kunoichi's name was, and Neji, who she'd only seen briefly as the bringer of bandages, had left not 10 minutes before. She had to get there now, to apologise. This was so unprofessional of her; she'd never missed a meeting in her entire career as a Kunoichi. The foot was painful to stand on, but the wrapping was impeccable. He wasn't a medical ninja, but everyone knew Maito Gai was a Taijutsu master, so it made sense.

Loose pants today, dark brown with a white sturdy cloth belt; and a long sleeved white top. Her hair, an absolute mess from drying essentially partially pressed against the floor of her bathroom was clipped up messily with her more useful hand, and she set off; limping at speed down the road. She'd had to run on worse, and knew she could, but didn't want to slow the healing process in a situation where she wasn't running for her life.

"Shizune!" she called, seeing the woman's form casually strolling ahead, carrying a steaming bag of food, Tonton trotting beside her. The woman's dark eyes were friendly as she turned to the familiar voice, then concerned as she noticed the slight limp Hayami was presenting.

"I'm sorry I missed the meeting this morning, I fell and oh it was so embarrassing…was Tsunade-sama mad?"

Shizune laughed, "She didn't notice; something urgent came in this morning and all organised meetings were cancelled for the day. Let me drop this off, we'll grab lunch, then i'll look at your ankle-I want to hear about this fantastically embarrassing morning of yours"

"You just like to laugh at me" Hayami huffed, mock glaring at the taller woman.

Tears were in her friend's eyes. "Let me get this straight Hayami; you fainted in the shower only to awaken to the site of strange children, and were then carried to bed in a way only known to your very peculiar daydreams by your personal handsome prince Maito Gai".

The object of their ridicule nodded, face burning red and buried into her crossed arms on the wooden table. Kurenai, who they'd run into on their way was gasping for air, drawing peculiar looks from their fellow patrons.

"This is amazing" she choked out, finally composing herself. "I had no idea you were such a devious minx Hayami; going to such lengths to try and get the town's most female oblivious ninja to notice your...assets"

Hayami groaned, "this was not how I wanted our first conversation to go. Or the first time he touched me, or held me, or saw me naked! I honestly didn't think he'd ever notice me, and now I have the eternal knowledge etched into my mind that the first time he saw me naked he was surrounded by children, and I was surrounded by my miscellaneous shower products, not rose petals or gently lit candles or a silken robe"

"Thought about it a lot before today have you?" Shizune smirked, delicately and oh so innocently eating her dumplings

"He trains topless in the garden, it's hard not to"

Kurenai interrupted, "I've known Gai for many years you know Hayami, and I never thought i'd see the day where a woman would be interested... they're normally turned off, or downright terrified by his eyebrows, hair, fashion sense...general state of exuberance" she lifted a finger for each reason; and Hayami couldn't help but smile; "he's so refreshing though! So many of the men in this town either build an 'i'm too cool' attitude or just give up on being cheery and slide into grumpy ninja gruffness"

Her companions nodded; they had to admit she had a point, not that they could empathise with her choices. "So" Shizune began, "where are you going to go from here? He knows who you are now; which was the obvious problem before-how are you going to charm him into seeing you as 'love interest' rather than 'strange clumsy neighbor who forgets soldier pills cannot sustain a woman for a week, even when they were specially formulated by the great and marvelous Shizune herself"

"Yeah" Kurenai continued, "are you going to throw yourself down the stairs next, or perhaps into an oncoming cart? Completely discredit yourself as a ninja in the process? I still can't believe you fainted; you've always been the level headed one out of us all"

Hayami groaned, "don't remind me. Please. I mean it"

"You need to get in there soon though" she continued, ignoring Hayami's pleading look "Maito's famously bad with faces, you need to ingrain yourself into his mind now, even if you do have the advantage of being his neighbor"

"He's not on mission rotation for at least 3 or 4 days Hayami" Shizune contemplated, "then he should be gone for like a week, so i'd say act fast in this one"

"But i'm no good with fast Zune, you know me, I like to plan out every step, play the long game"

"And that's what you've been doing for the last year is it Ami, playing the longest game known to man?"

Her childhood friends words echoed through her mind as she slumped on her sofa

"And that's what you've been doing for the last year is it Ami, playing the longest game known to man?"

She had been absorbed in work, romance wasn't exactly at the forefront of her priorities list. She was patient, meticulous- and avoiding her feelings. As she had with every boy she liked since roughly the age of 12.

She turned back to the report on her lap, the scroll open and pristine, her letters perfect as always on the white page. It would be sent for consideration by the Hokage and her advisors tomorrow in place of the thankfully cancelled meeting, so it looked to be a long night ahead. A tactical approach was her recommendation; sending a squad to corner the boss at home; get as much information out of him as possible; then a second squad to storm the place and recover the illegal substance and apprehend the gang members. Put one of their own towns merchant families members in the driving seat and use it as an information gathering facility for the foreseeable future whilst maintaining ties (and favour) with the merchant families in town and ensuring they have a steady stream of income for as long as the institution was viable.

She covered every possible eventuality over the next couple of hours, marked out her preferred team compositions and members; and drew intricate maps of the facility. If this worked, her plan wouldn't fail-on either account. Damn Shizune and her comments; but she was correct. Hayami would play the fast game, alright...

But on her own terms.


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note

Chapter 4! I've currently got til chapter 8 written, will start chapter 9 tonight or tomorrow, and i've got the reveal chapter drafted!

Apologies if my spellings are a little all over the place, it's sometimes difficult to tell whether it's that i'm spelling it wrong, or whether my computer wants me to spell everything the American way haha

As always, Kudos and reviews are amazing, and I hope my readers enjoy 3

Shout out to Mikomi 121, Toreh and Amikotsu for reviewing :)

* * *

It had taken a small amount of convincing to bring the advisers on board, but eventually they agreed, the future profit for the town and hopeful minimal casualties were an appealing prospect.

Her teams were clear; select anbu to infiltrate the owners recently built and fortified manor house; bringing in the leader without his hired thugs even noticing he was gone.

A Taijutsu heavy team would take out the thugs outside the store; whilst members of the Yamanaka and Nara clan would use their control techniques to freeze activity within in order to safely evacuate the patrons.

Perfect.

She would watch from afar, earpiece in place to coordinate the teams flushly into any situation, Neji Hyuuga at her side monitoring and reporting the inner workings of the mission, beyond where she could see.

He'd been surprised to see her when he arrived at the designated area, following her quick bird chirp into the canopy that had become her observation deck, but quickly fell into the pace of her leadership. The remaining ninja under her command had no idea who their leader was or where they were residing, a countermeasure in case of emergency. She couldn't protect them or swiftly re-plan if needed if she were fighting off enemies after all.

Team 1 were in place, silent as they crept towards the manor house. She'd marked the side window with a minuscule line hours before, and they followed the trail perfectly; each leaping onto the windowsill and sliding though without a hitch; silent enough that the roaming guards didn't suspect a thing. A fast acting neurotoxin was next, rolled into the previously sealed room, again by herself just hours before. The moment it was in place they would burst the antidote previously stored in the side of their mouth, retrieve the now frozen man and feed him out the way they came; with a 30 second window between when each should jump; the final with his unconscious form. All loose items of clothing were to be secured; there could be no trace they were ever there.

She watched the three anbu exit as planned, and disappear back into the trees; to a waiting area a mile west. Her timings had been impeccable, and she watched as the taijutsu team moved forwards exactly as planned. Stealth was key here; no flashy Jutsu and certainly no destruction of property. Two genjutsu users would control the left side of the compound, whilst the Taijutsu members cleared the right. Gai and his team made quick work of each thug that appeared; working silently and efficiently as a unit. By the time they were moving onto the opposite side, she'd already signaled for the control team to move in; and for the genjutsu users to allow their targets to trickle into the newly stationed taijutsu unit.

By the time they were onto their last enemy, the silent alarm had triggered the Yamanaka and Nara members, only seconds after the outside group had whistled to show they were ready for the next step. She smirked, she was out by 5 seconds, but no-one was perfect.

Minutes later confused patrons were milling from the back exit; where there were conveniently no bodies, all having now been moved into the surrounding forest. The well known Konoha ninja's were informing the group that this had all been a training exercise, and thanking them for their cooperation. They would be able to return another night without paying the entrance fee, and were shipped back to their homes in their returned carts and coaches.

In, Out, Perfect.

By tomorrow they'd have their own people running the business and the public would be none the wiser.

"Come, Neji" she called softly, dropping from their observation area onto the ground below, and quickly crossing the distance to the compound, where she again, ensured within earshot of the departing nobles that the training exercise had gone fantastically, and should anything happen in the future they would certainly be able to evacuate the building fantastically quickly.

The majority of the ninja before her had no idea of her existence, the blond yamanaka girl eyeing her coldly as she approached, but the now returning Anbu nodded to her "The objective is with the retrieval team, and will be in a cell within the next hour" She smiled, nodding back "Fantastic, no issues I assume?"

It was difficult to read Anbu, but his voice betrayed a smile hidden behind the rabbit mask as he spoke "you know there wasn't, honestly Ake-San"

Her laugh barked and she grinned, "dismissed" and turned to the remaining two units. Any of our friends in their need the cleanup squad, or are they all to go to the detain squad for questioning?"

"Detain for most, we had 3 that likely won't make it but they appeared to have pre-existing injuries"

"Thank you Tenten. Gai, Yamanaka-san, Nara-san, were the drugs within the compound?"

It was Gai that answered, "Yes, it's been collected within the compound and piled in the main office"

"Fantastic, package it up, split it up and we'll take it back to Konoha" Hayami answered, glad the operation had gone without a hitch. No traps, no powerful ninja to go against, she'd think it was a trap if she hadn't witnessed first hand conversations where the owners hubris was obviously growing, and would create his downfall easily. He hadn't believed he was close enough to the town to be under suspicion, and thought he was innocuous enough to not be noticed as the centre of the drug operation. He'd confessed in that office numerous times; unaware of her still presence in the ceiling above him.

"Ake-san?" Gai's voice called as he jogged towards her. He'd insisted of taking the brunt of the heavy packages; alongside his protege Lee, his pose whilst doing so almost ruining her insistent professionalism by drawing another laugh.

She turned, "please Gai-san, call me Hayami" she smiled, glad her face wasn't betraying the pounding in her heart at the forwardness of her own statement. He didn't seem to notice.

"Hayami, i'm glad to see you back on your feet, it shows a real youthful attitude!"

"It really wasn't a bad sprain" She said, eyes firmly holding his. Eye contact was good; conversations were good, don't overthink this, she told herself.

"You had it healed then?" Lee interrupted, catching up to the two

"Unfortunately no Lee, my delightful friend Shizune said I should treat it as a physical reminder not to attempt to survive on soldier pills whilst on long missions-they help me survive whilst not moving more than to put it in my mouth, and keep you awake with no bodily functions for a whole day; but I should have had real food and sleep at night when I safely could have-a lazy mistake"

"I hadn't realised you were a Kunoichi" Gai added to the conversation; "but it's obvious from this mission that you're an incredibly dedicated strategist; this was quite unlike anything we've ever had before-a fantastic training opportunity for my youthful pupils!"

She laughed again, feeling it was all she did around the enthusiastic pair that was Lee and Gai.

Neji finally spoke up. "You had every second mapped out. And back up plans, mock up's of movement paths and possible outcomes, I've never seen that before in the field"

She paused for a second. "Indeed. Some call it pointless, or obsessive, but honestly my skills lie in planning. I'm an infiltrator, an information gatherer. My weaknesses lie in actually fighting; but with enough observation and planning I can minimise any and all risks as much as possible. It's important to identify your own weaknesses and work around them as you learn your own ninja way"

"You can't fight?"

"No Tenten, I can- I passed academy after all, and i'm a jounin. But if i can, i'll avoid it or create situations where I can hide and take people out when they lose interest, play the long game"

This was not going entirely as planned; she'd wanted to, and managed to impress Gai with her impeccable mission, but she wanted to not show herself as a weakling. She knew he valued strength, and wanted to remove the image of her needing help in his mind. Expressing her own downfalls was not usually the way to impress a prospective love interest.

"I insist you train with us Hayami!"

She almost choked on the air as Gai's words cut through her slight internal ranting. "Pardon?"

"My students and I are incredibly physically strong, they put their all into their training every day-but they could learn from a ninja such as yourself. And in return, we can work on your physicality as a group, improving each other with every day, working as a true team". Gai's eyes were teary, he'd stopped walking and was looking up into the sky determined-hands on his hips and legs in a wide stance. She really couldn't say no.

"That sounds fantastic"


	5. Chapter 5

Author note

Morning all! Apologies if anyone read this yesterday and a) wondered where it had gone or b) are wondering why it was reposted. when I uploaded the chapter last night it shot up an error message, I refreshed the page and thought nothing of it as it had the 5th chapter on. However, I stumbled across a forum post this morning over breakfast that suggested this meant none of my followers had received an alert email. As i'm on holiday next week I want to post another chapter before I go and don't want to risk people missing chapter 5 if they only get an alert for chapter 6.

Did you get an email alert from roughly 20:00 GMT on the 2nd May? let me know!

Thanks for reading as always, suggestions are always welcome and apologies as always for any spelling mishaps, i mostly write on the go and the s7 edge has the single worst autocorrect i've ever encountered (it changes correctly spelled words to words it feels are more apt, such as 'they ran through the forest' to 'they ran through the breakfast'. yes.

* * *

What does one wear to training when they're trying to look appealing but not in an obvious, 12 year old girl trying to impress her crush at the academy way?

Fishnet, apparently, according to Kurenai, who was holding up a rather risque fishnet one piece and a crop top/short combo, which she gently declined, wondering where the fishnet had come from as it certainly didn't originate in her rather more practical than attractive wardrobe.

For missions, Hayami tended to go for either all black, for shadows (face covering optional), a more light cropped brown legging and white top combo for daytime missions, or an outfit best suited for camouflaging in the area she knew she'd be in (her favourites were her two sunagakure outfits, one civilian, one a complicated mesh of sand coloured capes and loose fabrics to better sink into the sand of the desert)

But she didn't want to blend in today. Or did she?

"Maybe I should camouflage myself in the forest at the training site, then impress them by making a surprise appearance?" her voice was excited as she pulled a green and brown top and pants from the wardrobe, the latter of which had inbuilt soft shoes for silent movement. Kurenai stopped her mid movement. "I don't think I'd realised the extent of your lack of experience until now Hayami, but I don't think men tend to say to each other 'gosh, look at her over there, she completely looks like a pile of leaves, how sexy"

Hayami flopped on the corner of the bed "I shouldn't change myself though, I want him to notice me- but for me, and this is how I train"

Her friend groaned. "At least let me make you a sexy leaf then"

She relented, pushing thoughts that it wasn't wholly appropriate to be 'sexy' around his teenage pupils to the back of her mind.

And so she found herself heading to the training grounds, in a cropped pair of black leggings and a stone coloured cheongsam style top. She'd refused the hair products, drawing the line at an item that would definitely be ruined by the tough training regimen she had no doubt was waiting for her. She'd packed a simple bento and enough jasmine tea for 4, in a thermos to keep it warm.

The walk to the training grounds was one of her favourites at this time of year, soft buds forming on the lush trees and springtime flowers filling the undergrowth. She could hear the team as she approached, the steady sounds of weaponry hitting posts and the counting of attacks making her feel nostalgic for her own genin and chuunin days; before herself and her team mates had moved onto the next parts of their lives.

Gai turned as she approached, enthusiastically waving her over and bringing the team in together at the centre of the area. "Hayami! You decided to join us! I'm so happy you've decided to continue onwards in your path to self improvement!"

Lee joined in, appearing next to his sensei and copying the pose, eyes gleaming, one hand on his hip and the other pointing directly on her oncoming figure. "Your dedication and enthusiasm is inspiring to all, we too should face our inadequacies face on-I for instance, can only do genjutsu!"

"Inadequecies...ah." she began, already feeling surprised; her brows furrowing at his outburst. She wasnt as good sure, but hadnt considered it an inadequecy...

It was the sound of a whack that caused her to lift her head in alarm, the spell broken on her confused dejection. "Lee you idiot, don't be insensitive!" the girl walked towards Hayami, and held out a hand. "It's nice to see you again Hayami, and to have such an accomplished kunoichi to learn from"

"Thank you Tenten, though the pleasure is mine, being able to train in Taijutsu under such a master and his team"

A laugh boomed out from the other side of the training grounds, to where the team's leader was currently stood on one hand, doing vertical pushups. "You flatter me! Join the ranks, and let's begin!"

* * *

Training was hard. Of course Hayami trained, but not like this. Never like this. It was a testament to the youths before her that they did this every day. Her sensei had been an assassin, and no-one was surprised when the quiet woman had created 2 anbu assassins and an infiltrator, all of impeccable standard. Whilst they were meditating, learning to be silent and create complex poisons and neurotoxins, this is what others were learning. She could get a senbon into pressure points from great distance, and was particularly proficient in the use of a blowdart, but was, as she had learned today, frankly remedial in the kind of intensive training this team were accustomed to.

The beginning run was easy, she'd always enjoyed a good run, but the muscle work afterwards was strenuous. How Gai and Lee did this with weights...she was in awe.

Her kicks and punches were quick and precise, but weak; but she knew that if it came to it she couldn't survive in a match if she couldn't escape or incapacitate her enemy swiftly.

* * *

"Stop"

More like flop, after a 10 mile run and reaching 500 punches and kicks against the wooden dummy.

Gai passed her a towel, and the flask of tea, and she gratefully smiled, pouring cups for all who nodded to her offer. The tea was delicate, steaming softly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, tea cooling beside him as he energetically stretched. She wanted to admire him, and normally would have to push less than wholesome thoughts from her mind at the sight of his energetic flexibility and very tight jumpsuit; but she was genuinely too exhausted.

"Tired; it's been years since I've done this kind of training" she laughed, leaning back on her elbows, knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

"You said you avoid fighting if you can, what would you do if you got caught or something?" Tenten asked, spinning her kunai.

"If my planning fell through, which can and has happened; I have specialist training to get me out of difficult situations; my sensei focused on evasion and avoidance, distance fighting, poisons and toxins"

"And if you came against someone like me? Against my clan your hiding would be useless" Neji finally spoke up

"You're right, hiding would be useless. But I'm no genin, or chuunin. I have my ways. Of course if there were more of you i'd have to rethink and as all ninja must understand, I could die...but this training will help with that"

"Show me." His confidence was telling through his tone- he obviously didn't believe her. Easily done, after all, who would believe in the ability of a woman so ready to admit their own vulnerability in battle.

She was tired, but she could still do this. Her energy returned quickly with the aid of an peanut butter ball. She rummaged in her pack for her tools, fastening the holder around her waist and walked to the centre of the sparring area, and she catalogued her surroundings.

Neji, in front. Trees circling. Tall grass and leaves to the rear. Rocks to her left. He had an almost perfect field of vision...a plan formed in her mind, clear as day.

Gai was the adjudicator. "Begin!"

They bowed to each other, and then everything was still. She needed to use his confidence against him…he had yet to use his ability, so she had time to act. Gathering chakra in her eyes gently, she faked to the right, throwing senbon towards him. He dodged easily, and they missed, instead hitting the trees behind him. She made a show of huffing, of coming back for , three times this was repeated, again and again until eventually they had returned back to their original positions in the circle. All the senbon had missed, instead embedded in the trees surrounding them.

"How are you Jounin?" he asked, cocky but confused.

"Don't let your guard down Neji! Stay focused and let the enjoyment of the match fuel you to greater heights!" his sensei called from the side, intently watching the match.

The chakra well behind her eyes was well built now, the steady stream failing to draw the attention of her sensitive opponent.

"Turn on your byakugan and see for yourself" she replied, smiling confidently at the young man.

His eyebrows furrowed; and he activated his bloodline ability. He tried to move, but it was too late. Hayami's hand twitched, and chakra strings connected the senbon; his own neck forming the centre, trapping him in place. His opponent immediately dashed forwards, released the burst of chakra behind her eyes and trapped him in a weak genjutsu, all she'd need for a friendly spar like this.

She had won; and he hadn't laid a hand on her.

God's she was tired now though.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note**

 **Morning all, let's all hope this chapter has no publishing problems like Chapter 5 xD**

 **Thank you so much to Mikomi121 and LunaLou for the reviews, and to everyone who has followed or favourited the story so far!**

 **Sorry for the delay this week, I uploaded chapter 6 before I left and completely forgot to attach it to the actual story haha-so now here's 6 and 7 is ready to go in the sidelines~**

 **We're almost at 50 followers and I cant believe it :D I'm happy that you're enjoying this and i'll try and make sure you enjoy where it's going! i'm writing chapter 12 at the moment :)**

* * *

"Hayami?"

The older woman turned, unsurprised to see Tenten falling into a sitting position next to her, the large summoning scroll more carefully placed than she placed herself. They'd been training for over a month now, meeting most days apart from when the respective groups were on missions; the two women had become friends. She felt Tenten enjoyed having an another woman to talk to in her very male dominated team. She gestured for the younger girl to speak.

"this is an awkward question to ask…" Tenten began

Her interest was piqued. "Go on…" oh god she hoped Tenten wasn't about to ask for boy advice. She'd be useless. The correct way to file cue cards yes, romance, no.

"Do you have any...I mean can I possibly...is there a chance that-"

Hayami interrupted, concern lacing through her tone "what's wrong Tenten?"

"Oh gosh no it's nothing bad, I um, do you have any of your gear in my size I could borrow?" the words came out in a rush, and Hayami had to hold back a laugh. She'd observed over the last couple of weeks that the Kunoichi hated relying on others

"Of course, though...why the sudden change?" she asked, gesturing to the girls current red and white outfit

"Oh, it's not going to be a full time change, trust me, just if it comes to it in missions I want to be able to blend in more, to have it sealed away as I would one of my weapons"

Hayami smiled demurely, nodding along with the girls words.. "A smart move, and of course; why don't you come round tomorrow after I've dug out all my smaller gear and you can have a root through and pick out anything you like"

"Are you honestly sure I can try anything in these boxes on Ami?"

Hayami leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom and smiled at the pair of twin buns bobbing with excitement.

"of course, there's not an enormous amount here, we were mostly on the road and you never have a lot of pack space, but you're welcome to anything in there except for the kimono; that was a gift"

Tenten pulled the kimono out, gasping and running her hand along the beautiful garment. It was black at the neck, gradually fading to a soft pink, with pure white embroidered flowers and a lightly embroidered white obi.

"Who? I mean where is this from? It's beautiful..." she breathed.

"It was a gift from my team, for my 16th birthday. We never really celebrated birthdays but we were in a town at the same time as a huge moon festival, and oh the kimonos" she sighed, relishing in the memory of beautiful women in jewel toned outfits. "They pooled their money the next day; and with a little; or a lot I suspect; help from our sensei, presented me with it that evening. I felt absolutely beautiful" she sighed "more beautiful than I've ever felt in my life"

"that's amazing...but, wait wait, why didn't you celebrate birthdays?"

Hayami moved from the doorframe to the bed, smoothing the duvet out and laying the kimono upon it. "I never really celebrated as a child, and once I was out of town it never felt important. None of us were that fussed, we celebrated our team birthday instead, the day we left town to train together"

"that...that's really lovely. You're close then?"

"We're family, I met my real family the day I was placed in team 11" she laughed "my two idiot, hilarious, run into trouble brothers. I didn't used to be this crazy planner; all organised and three steps ahead; but I had to be to keep up with those two! They were practically geniuses, but both always thought they were right, competing to get the kill first, to complete the mission best. It almost got us into trouble so many times that I started planning for 5 or 6 different scenarios every mission-just to keep us alive!"

She coughed, and wiped the tears of laughter that had begun to form at the corner of her eyes.

"Anyway Tenten, take all the time you need. Kurenai and I think Asuma are going to be popping round in a few minutes to grab lunch, but we can wait a bit downstairs first or I can lend you a key and grab it tomorrow" she smiled, collecting the spare key from her safety box on the bedside table.

"I can take it to sensei's and you could collect it? Or I'll just try them on at home?"

"I...i suppose I could pop to Gai's, though they're always late so I don't think it'll come to"

"Afternoon Ami!"

"Or they're early and have just let themselves in" she laughed, rolling her eyes at the giggling Tenten.

"You cant always be right eh Hayami?" she sniggered into the back of her hand

Hayami mock glared at the girl, pointing at her laughing face "i can try" she said, very seriously; causing the girl to laugh even more, muffling it with her fist.

She jogged downstairs, offering to make tea for the couple, who readily accepted. Asuma was booming as always. "So, Hayami, kurenai here spilt the beans last night that you're finally making a move on Maito Gai!"

"Oh, Asuma, um-how many time have I asked you not to smoke in my house" she laughed nervously. Then locked eyes with Kurenai-hoping her panic filled expression would inspire her friend to stop the conversation her spouse was defiantly attempting to make happen.

"Don't try and change the subject on me now Hayami! You jumped him yet? God knows why you chose him to fall in love with but you could both use a good la..."

She tried to cut him off, to desperately shut him up, and ended up simply taking a flying leap at the man, clapping her hand over his mouth and almost knocking them both to the floor. Maybe it was fine. Maybe she hadn't heard, maybe that wasn't her screeching upstairs, perhaps there was another explanation to the thundering running occuring on her stairs.

No.

Tenten appeared in the front room, in pretty much an all black version of her usual outfit, mouth agape

The penny dropped for her guests. Kurenai spoke first, laughing nervously. "Tenten...you look good...didn't realise you were here!"

"Thankyou" the girl respectfully answered, then turned to Hayami, her mouth forming into an enormous smile, the opposite of the grimace adorning Hayami's own freckled face

The spew of words that escaped the girl was just about decipherable as she practically vibrated with excitement. "How did I not realise? How long has this been going on? Does he know?...of course he doesn't know, oh my gosh this is amazing!"

Hayami allowed the girl to continue, turning away from her to glare fiercely at her companions, who shied away from her gaze.

Tenten was just breathing heavily at the point, then coughed, composing herself. "This could be a good thing Hayami" Kurenai said gently, not wanting a kitchen ornament the face from a ninja with unwavering accuracy.

"It's an amazing thing; I mean I don't understand it, id prefer a man much more mature but I can help! Manoeuvre situations for you to be alone"

Hayami groaned quietly, though perhaps the girl was right…

"he's already seen you in the buff, you're honestly moving backwards in this one hayami, surely he'd wanna see that again" Asuma continued, laughing into his knuckles as her groan and glare intensified.

"Asuma, I doubt he even noticed" she spat out

"Oh he definitely noticed, he was pink and distracted all day" Tenten giggled

Everyone in the room stopped.

"He what?" Hayami said, facing the younger woman

"He kept going all spaced out in training, then pink when we told him to stop being a perv"

Oh my god, she was wrong. She'd thought him oblivious enough to not pay attention, Tenten had covered her quickly after all and to her, it was a moment of shame. But perhaps it was a moment of opportunity. He blushed...she spaced out herself, imagining his pink face, eyes unfocused as he stared at nothing in the distance.

"Yeah he kinda looked just like that..."

"Get your stuff Tenten, you're joining us for lunch. My treat, you've earned it"


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors note**

* * *

The months flowed into each other, a mesh of training and missions. She was feeling the difference already, her body changing in subtle ways. She'd always been slight and very toned but the definition was more pronounced now in her arms and legs- in a way she loved.

She shivered, and got up to close the open window of the kitchen. Scrolls and pocket books littered the table as she planned her lesson. They had been asked to prepare for 4 man missions, and having one silent sneak and 3 normal ninja would give them away almost instantly.

And so she'd spent the last few weeks going over her old diaries, trying to figure out what the team would be easily capable of, what would only require small tweaks to existing moves, and what they could work on over the next few weeks. Lee was the tricky one, not being able to use the jutsu, but there were chakra techniques he'd be able to work on.

This evening though, she'd be planning the full training regime for the next 4 weeks, alongside their sensei, as opposed to the casual chats and suggestions they'd been having previously. After her eventful lunch with Tenten, they'd planned their attack; beginning with together planning sessions, she'd make his favourite meal; have him think of her in a light other than teammate, and after their upcoming group mission, the leaf festival. She was going to ask him to accompany her. She had a plan, a mental tick list to work through. It was comforting to know she had planned stages, itemised areas to evaluate as she went; and this was step 1.

The idea that he planned lessons like this regularly in the parallel house, contemplating their next moves and how they would move forwards, was a side of him she'd only caught glimpses of over the last month or two of working alongside each other. Hayami imagined there would be a lot more gut instinct, enthusiastic hand gestures and sparkling than her own brand of planning, which involved comfy clothes, extensive research and precise note taking. The door knocked, as expected, and she quietly padded across the floor, pausing briefly to collect herself and let him in.

"Sorry for bothering you with this on your day off Gai" she smiled, finding herself shy once again. She'd become a lot more confident around him recently, but the team were always there, a wonderful barrier to her nerves and a place to direct conversation. Here though, they were completely. Alone. As they needed to be.

"It's not a problem Hayami, I'm happy to see you taking such an interest in teaching my beautiful students your specialism!"

"Well when Tenten showed such an interest on Monday, how could I say no? Plus the hokage wants us as a 4 man squad"

She could have kissed Tenten for that one.

He sparkled. He always sparkled with passion, something she continuously admired as someone who often struggled to express herself.

"This is what I've compiled so far, my training was slightly unorthodox so I'll have to adapt a lot of it…"

He was curious now, as he sat himself down in the directed seat across from her. "how so?"

"We, my team and I, weren't raised in the village. Sensei took us about a month after we were given to her when we were 11 and she trained us on the job for almost 7 years - our missions would arrive by coded bird. I've lived here for the past 4 years now, since we came back"

"And your families didn't mind?" he questioned, toying with the scrolls in front of him, but still giving her his full attention

"None of us really had much family to be honest, Hikaru's parents died on a mission when he was young, Jun's just never really cared, and I'd always lived here and there with different families. We always thought that was one of the reasons we were chosen"

Gai looked down, "I...im sorry"

She smiled softly, "it's fine, I have a family now, the three of us are enough family to make up for anything in the past."

"I'd love to meet them. I want that for our three; teamwork is always the most important thing, to be able to trust in each other and work together, continuously striving with youthful endeavour" he gushed, but one word in their stopped her thought process in its tracks. "ours?"

"They're your youthful students too aren't they?"

"But I haven't even taught them anything yet" she blushed, and continued "if anything, I've been your student alongside them" she laughed, willing courage again for a moment before teasingly adding "Gai-sensei"

'Clear your mind, clear your mind, now is not the moment for sensei pupil fantasies or wondering what else he could tutor you in Hayami' she chided herself, controlling her face as she looked at the older man, returning to her earlier small smile, a small blush in place.

He laughed, his cheeks flushing slightly "if you can't see the impact you've had on those three then you're not as observant as your job suggests!" he paused, before also adding "Hayami-sensei"

Of course he didn't realise she was flirting...she wanted to shake him, inwardly frustrated at his lack of understanding. He thought she was making a thing of them both teaching. She'd tried so hard to be forward. Time to change the subject.

"It'll be some time though, before you're able to meet my teammates i'm afraid"

"Away on long missions?" he said, hopeful she wasn't referring to anything more sinister.

"Yeah, they've been away for a couple of months now. Sensei too. They chose to remain as assassins, in ANBU. I didn't have the stomach or conscience for killing in the same way they did, couldn't cut myself off from the emotions. I was always so thankful that they respected that, and that Inoki-sensei nurtured me onto my current path, it's not something a lot of teachers would have done"

The timer went off behind her, interrupting her sentence. "I hope you'll allow me to feed you tonight?"

"You prepared a meal for us?" he asked, his full eyebrows raised in shock.

She laughed, and smiled fully at him, beaming with happiness "sneaking isn't my only skill Gai, and it's the least I could do for the last...well for everything you've done for me. That morning seems so long ago now doesn't it"

"But also like it was yesterday... and yes! Barbeque pork is one of my favourites" he laughed, beaming at her and moving the scrolls to one side of the table. Now Tenten had pointed it out, she could see the blush on his cheeks at the mention of that morning, the quick change of subject. Perhaps she had a chance after all.

"A little birdy might have told me that" she admitted, looking at the eager man out of the corner of her eye.

* * *

Dinner finished, and pots too after her guest had insisted, and the two had moved over to the sofa. The radio was playing softly in the background as usual; but the pair were more focused on the training notes before them

"Tenten and Neji will focus more on shadowing jutsu, invisibility and viable transformation jutsu…"

"And for my wonderful protege Lee?"

"Camouflage, stealth and meditation to quiet the mind. They'll all be doing regular meditation, and towards the end I want them to spend a two week period together in the woods, surviving, with minimal speech. We'll trail them and watch"

"In silence?" he asked, shocked.

"It's something Inoki sensei used to make us do, so we'd be be fluent in each other's body language and be able to communicate silently"

"A challenge indeed for them!"

"It's saved our lives more times than I can count-and would be months off yet at least" she replied, noting it down on the plan and returning to her many diaries. The light was dimming outside as she read, legs crossed on the floor next to where the older man was sat.

* * *

She yawned, and stretched, looking up at Gai. He was fast asleep, scroll open in his lap. Did she cover him and go to her own bed? Wake him and return him home? It's not like he had far to go after all...or fall asleep here as she had so many times in the past. No. She wasn't desperate enough to risk a pulled muscle just to sleep a few meters away from him, that was just pathetic. How long had he been asleep anyway?

She got up, and covered him with a blanket, silently jogging back to her own room. Which was cold, and dark, and…"I am not getting up" she whispered into the dark, stern with herself. Crossing her arms, she glared at wall opposite her bed. "I am not moving" but she did want to... "I refuse!"

"I am a grown woman" she whispered as she got back out of bed and grabbed another blanket. "not some love sick child" this admonition was aimed at the pillow in her other hand. "I am being ridiculous" she hissed at her own reflection as she left the bedroom, the traditional sleeping quarters.

"Oh well...not like anyone would ever know...its only me who's lost all respect for me"


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note!

Sorry that this doesn't follow completely on from the last chapter, but it follows on in other ways haha!

I think this might be the longest chapter yet!

To anyone who is reading this and waiting for the revamp of Collided, my Loki story, i'm happy to announce that i've just written chapter 2-it's already a good 4000 words so i think in another chapter or two will be longer than the entire previous story combined. It's amazing to see how your own writing style changes in 3 or 4 years. If anyone is curious, you're welcome to take a look at my current Loki story but remember that it's not amazing and it forming the basic plot for the new one, so probably best to wait until then. If anyone wants to suggest made up norse creatures (or real ones) that would be amazing, please do so, I've been doing research out of the wazoo and they all seem to be friendly, giants, or plot integral! i'd love to see your ideas :)

Back to Naruto-enjoy :)

* * *

The team were taking to their new lessons well. She'd never thought of herself as a teacher, it had never even crossed her mind as a possibility; but she was enjoying this! She'd been away for 2 weeks on an intensive mission, but found she often thought of their progress during quiet parts of the day; wondering when they'd be able to take on missions of their own similar to this. Neji was particularly good, but Tenten had more passion for learning the skill, as suited as it was to a weapons expert.

She truly couldn't wait to see the progress they'd made whilst she was away, and the true test was to come when they were told they were able to go on their first mission together as a tracking/info gathering squad.

Today though, the group would have a challenge. They had to locate her and Gai. She wanted them to do an information gathering task on the two of them, but it wasn't as effective if she knew they were coming. She arrived part way through their AM Training, simple taijutsu practice, sparring in turn. "good morning Hayami sensei!" Lee shouted as she approached, pausing his kick directly next to Tenten's head with amazing precision. The others smiled at her. "good morning" she called, jogging over to the group. She pulled a blanket from her pack, handing it to Gai.

"I'm so sorry, thank you for taking me home last night, and for the blanket "

"Ah! It's fine, no apologies needed!"

Their shared meals had continued over the last 2 months, alternating houses whilst planning together, which last night had resulted in the two putting the planning aside to just watch a film.

* * *

" _So if we focus on Lee's taijutsu working alongside the aide of a chakra infused cloak, he'll be able to hide without the use of jutsu...we need to work on silent attacks though, he's still expressing verbally too much. Neji too, I mean it's fantastic that he's reaching new high numbers but does he need to shout the palms he's up to?" she muttered, waving the end of her pen at Gai._

" _It's enthusiasm! They're shouting their intentions to the world"_

" _Which is fantastic unless you're trying to be even a little bit stealthy; they'd be found immediately" she laughed, staring down at the plans in front of her and lifting her coffee to her lips. Ugh. Empty._

 _She tapped the table and went to stand and refill the cup but Gai was already on his feet and reaching for her empty cup. She stared for a second and slowly passed the cup over, raising an eyebrow at his retreating back and she slid back down to the floor_

 _Coffee back in hand, she continued, quizzing him on their progress whilst she was gone._

" _Would you consider Tenten's progress to be a half circle or a ¾?"_

" _It's glowing!"_

" _Is glowing a semicircle or a three quarter circle?" she yawned, the heel of her hand tucked neatly onto her chin._

" _You're making no sense Hayami, they're doing well! Just focus on that, it doesn't need to be quantified with a coloured circle. Put the marking away, you've not even been here to mark anything...come onto the sofa"_

 _The sofa, next to Gai. The small sofa. She'd become comfortable with him in the last 8 weeks but that was a complete step forwards._

" _I can't, I need to prepare" both mentally after he'd fallen asleep on her sofa weeks before, and literally, for the lesson's she'd be returning to now she's back_

" _Just enjoy the situation, let the spirit of it flow through you, driven by the excellence of their youthful experience!"_

" _But…"_

" _You're tired Hayami"_

" _Im a ninja Gai" she huffed, gulping another mouthful of coffee "I've done a lot more on much less sleep"_

" _A ninja that's writing Tenten's training notes on Lee's index cards"_

" _No!"_

 _Oh god maybe he was right. Maybe she did need to let her brain rest. Couldn't even use the correct coloured cue card for the correct student._

" _I know your weakness Ami!" he laughed, head thrown back "struck down by only two things, improper diet and incorrect colour coding! Now come and relax, you've only just got back from a mission. You need rest to be at your best tomorrow"_

 _She snorted through the blush at the realisation that he'd called her by her nickname, and sat down, curling her feet under her; as opposed to his which were now crossed on her coffee table. He'd switched into a green t-shirt and loose pants; his outer clothes scattered on the backs of chairs and the floor next to the sofa. It was the first time she'd seen him out of his usual training clothes...apart from when he trained in half of his training gear-not that she thought about it often…_

 _It was thrillingly personal._

 _He handed her the remote and she flicked onto a movie channel, settling into the plush fabric of his sofa, overwhelmingly comfortable. He smelt great, like sandalwood and ylang ylang, and her eyes felt heavy and her limbs were sleepy and slow._

" _do you want me to switch it off?" he asked, noticing her slowing breath and sagging form._

" _no, you're enjoying the film. Leave it on" she mumbled, tiredness slurring her words, "I might just rest my brain for a moment, like you suggested"_

" _rest on me if you want" he said quietly, patting a pillow that he'd rested against his chest. She slid down against him, wishing the pillow was absent and she was fully curled up against his side._

 _She didn't see or feel his hand ghost over her shoulder, so close but not actually touching, or the way he hadn't watched a minute of the movie._

* * *

"I'm sorry for falling asleep on you Gai" she said again, embarrassed.

"I was merely an extension of the sofa" he laughed, clapping her on the shoulder hard and turning away swiftly.

The students watched with confused looks, apart from Tenten's barely veiled glee.

"Today" she began, "you need to be able to locate us. Gai and I will hide somewhere in the forest, and you need to find us. Learning how to locate others is just as important as learning stealth, and you need to be able to do it without alerting us to your presence. We have 30 minutes to hide, then you have 4 hours to seek" She stepped back, removing her navy coat to reveal a suit very similar to Gai's himself, only entirely black. She pulled her fingers through her hair, dragging the green tresses back with precision into a tight bun, and pulled the loose neck up to cover her nose and mouth.

"3, 2, 1" and with that they were moving upwards, small movements gesturing their path. The kids weren't as fast as they were, and they were quickly a couple of miles into the dense forest, branches and trees passing in a blur. "let's move downwards to the base of the tree. I'll use one of my scrolls to summon a chakra cape, we'll use it to cover us and blur our presence"

He nodded, accepting her greater experience. "Their first task is to track our direction, the second is to figure out that we're using a disruption cloak. Once they find us, we need to use a replacement jutsu and reappear away from here, where we're going to move back towards the training grounds with kage bunshin heading both east and west. I'll transform and fly above you, and I'll alert you if you need to a quick maneuver"

They moved downwards, and she summoned her largest cloak, draping it over the two of them as they slid into a gap between the roots of one of the trees. It was warm and snug, and she smiled, eyes warm at Gai. "now, we wait" she whispered, connecting the tips of her fingers and exposed toes to the chakra threads of the cloak, gently moving earth chakra through it until it was a suitable disguise.

They waited for an hour, limbs pressed together and breath hot in the cramped hole until they heard the team run past, feeling the vibrations of their chakra signatures through the trunk. She held a finger to her lips, covered as they were, and held out a hand. 'wait, don't speak' her hand gestures called, and he nodded and pointed to the left 'understood, they've moved on but we'll wait'

20 minutes later the group circled back around, sensing their trail had gone cold. In a couple of seconds Neji would activate his ability and they'd likely be caught, and yes, there was the sudden silence of held breath as he pointed at the tree. Everything stilled, and she slid her hand down to interlace with Gai's. She squeezed three times, then twice, then as she heard a sudden intake of breath one last time, before letting go and completing the transformation jutsu, smiling at their frustrated groans as they discovered logs in the tree base. She was happy though, they'd passed the first test.

She caught up with Gai, swiftly finding him north of her position, and nodded and pointed to confirm their clones had continued onwards in tandem.

She transformed, soaring upwards as a bluejay, calls joining in with the cacophony of the other birds in the forest. They shouldn't follow the trail of one; should stick to one of the pairs they'd created, but if so no one would notice the extra chakra in the bird, as long as they kept moving. Both wanted the team to find them; hopeful that the training was paying off.

They paused, and she turned back into herself. They'd been moving at a swift pace for about an hour, with Hayami circling back and avoiding the team, very closely in some situations. She would fly forwards, observe the team, try to throw them off by allowing her chakra to flare then swoop back to Gai, navigating him in the opposite direction. Sweat dripped down her face and her chakra reserves were significantly dented. She pulled the mask down and took a deep couple of gulps from her water; crouching on the branch. He mirrored her, hand on her shoulder and eyes meeting hers, concerned. "I'm fine, don't worry" she whispered "flying at that speed for an hour is tiring"

"let's pause for a moment"

She smiled, knowing as her focus returned that they'd been caught out. "they're above us"

Laughs appeared from above, and the three appeared, dropping down to join them. Neji leaned forwards, offering her an energy ball from his pouch, which she gratefully accepted.

"When did you catch on?"

"The clones didn't act like you, you weren't focused on making sure they did. We watched them until it was obvious the chakra on Hayami's was wearing of, then followed Gai's trail here. The bird move was smart, we hadn't thought anything was off when you were watching us" Lee spoke proudly, posing, obviously incredibly proud to have outsmarted them.

Gai turned to her "if I weren't there they'd have never found you"

Hayami laughed, energy swiftly returning; honoured by the respect on his features "and if they didn't know us well they'd have never found us at all"

He leaned forwards, hands behind him "on you get bluejay"

"Gai no, I can walk!" she exclaimed horrified by the idea he was proposing 'I refuse to climb onto your back!"


	9. Chapter 9

Hello all!

Hope everyone's well, and as usual thank you for the Kudos and subscriptions! :) A big thank you to Mikomi121, DawnRacer and Toreh for reviewing on and to Nightfire and AngelicSailor on Archiveofourown

3

This chapter is dedicated to Mikomi121, who inspired me to write this by planting the idea that I then couldn't not write as it did fit well between the last chapter and the one I had planned :)

...Which then became me adding a couple of interim chapters to make the story flow better, so there may be a slight delay in the next couple whilst I get it back to the point where i'm only editing each week haha! I'll try and keep it as consistent as possible though :)

* * *

"Have you eaten yet?"

It was a simple question, asked over a wooden fence as she collected her laundry, carefully folding her clothes and laying them in the wicker basket. His arms were crossed, resting on the top of the dividing fence.

"I...um...pardon?" she asked, startled from her concentration on the perfect centre-fold of her dress and onto the man she truly hadn't noticed until he'd piped up.

He laughed, obviously enjoying the look of shock on her face. "Have you eaten yet?"

She shook her head and turned to hide the sudden pallor in her face at the spontaneity of the question. Collecting herself, she pulled the bedsheet off the line, tanned face and messy green hair poking from the top, mouth hidden by the bright yellow fabric. His smile was contagious,and she found herself inadvertently mirroring it. "Did you have anything in mind?" she enquired, eyebrows raising as he hopped over the dividing fence and bent, collecting the other end of the item hiding her away. He brought it towards her, hands ghosting as they folded it together.

"I was thinking bbq, I was supposed to be meeting Kakashi but he's had to go out on a last minute mission with his squad"

That made more sense, his plans had fallen through. Her heart returned to its rightful place in her chest; she couldn't believe that for a second she'd thought he was asking her on a date. She grinned across at him, grabbing the basket and carrying it in, gesturing for him to follow. "Sounds great, let me just get changed"

"You look fine" he said, gesturing to her baggy black jumper and leggings

Ah, fine, the single word every woman wants to hear describing her appearance. She raised a single eyebrow at him and looked in the mirror, before walking off and grabbing her purse. There was no hope in neatening the messy bun she'd fastened on the back of her head some hours before.

She slipped on her knee high ninja shoes and followed him out the house, glad to be out after being cooped in all day.

* * *

Needless to say they were not given one of the "cuddling booths" in the back of the place, her in an off the shoulder oversized jumper that used to belong to Jun before it had taken a nasty tumble with an open kunai holder- and he in his green jumpsuit,as always; but the seats were cosy and the set menu extensive. They happily got a pitcher of beer to go with their mountain of meat; and for a moment she was happy this wasn't a date. All the dates she'd been on before she'd eaten daintily, picking gently and normally leaving peckish but the two laughed loudly, slapping cut meats on the fire and pouring each other beer and sake. She honestly hadn't had such an amazing night in so long.

"You're good at this" he said, words slightly muffled by food.

She laid some butterflied prawns on the hot plate and pulled off the chicken, laying it perfectly with thinly sliced vegetables on her rice. "we used to do it a lot growing up; Inoki loves bbq, practically grew up with the Akamichi's in their food places. She'd take us to get it any time she could"

He couldn't help but note how carefully she was arranging the little bowl, how gently it was placed; vegetables perfectly distributed and sauce evenly drizzled. It matched the perfect right angles of her furniture and it honestly wouldn't surprise him if her bookcase was alphabetised...

"Tell me more then Hayami"

She looked at him confused, a light flush on her cheeks from the heat of the bbq between them and the beer, "about bbq?"

"About your life before now!" he laughed. He'd check on that alphabetisation later.

She finished off the beer in her glass and leant forwards; one hand on her chin and the other gesturing in the air with her chopsticks. "Not much to tell really, we did missions, went to festivals and hot springs, lived in forests and mountains for years"

"You must have some stories, spending all that time together for years"

"Oh, now that's a different matter! Let me think…"

Mirth lit up her features, and she leant back, laughing loudly behind her hand. "There was one time, when we were back in Konoha. It didn't happen often but we went in person to collect our assignment. Well Hikaru, Hikaru was tired of the lower level missions we'd been getting, wanted more of a challenge. So we're stood there in front of the council, and they say we're getting another B rank. Hikaru throws a complete strop; says he can see they have an A rank mission right there, and he wants it, that we can handle it and so on and so forth. He rushes forwards, and grabs it from the table; completely embarrassing us all in the process"

"You'd be surprised how many young ninja do it!" he laughed, gesturing for her to continue.

"Well, you wouldn't believe it-but they let us take it! Inoki gave him the verbal hiding of his life, then read the scroll and laughed. Gave it him back. Turns out they didn't give it to us because it was an info gathering mission and assassination of an all female compound; and we were a mixed gender group!"

Tears were starting to stream as she laughed through her story; and his face was completely lit up; thoroughly enjoying this less than controlled version of the woman he'd come to know well.

"So we had to go full Mulan, you know that story right?" he nodded. "his face was so red, Jun was ready to hill him, and we had to make them look like women, and Hikaru, Hikaru insisted that if we was gonna do it, he was gonna do it properly-shaved legs, padded top and all! You've not lived until you've seen a teenage boy with a padded top, a short skirt and heeled ninja boots lay on a rooftop with a blowdart and a full face of makeup!"

She was beside herself at the memory now, remembering how they'd tried to put him in a more demure outfit but he insisted on the full whak. "And then, he had us take a picture and he attached it to the completed report so the council knew that by god, Hikaru Komi would do any mission asked of him!"

"I can see Lee doing that for the good of the mission; he has such youthful enthusiasm!" Gai laughed, "but I think Neji would kill me!"

"He has the hair for it though!"

The two attempted straight faces, but fell about at the mental image of Lee dressed up.

"Can I ask you a question Gai?" Hayami asked, wiping her face, glad for the lack of makeup. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed like this.

"You just did, but I suppose I can allow another" he joked

"Ohh! Such originality!"

"I try"

"How about you? How did you get to where you are now? Tell me about your training and team"

"We were a pretty standard Konoha team, no real interesting individuality like yours" he laughed "My sensei was Choza Akimichi; who was scary at first, but really supportive and gentle once you get to know him. He's head of the Akimichi clan now-his son is in the same class as Neji, Lee and Tenten"

Her eyebrows raised. "Wow, you were trained by the Akimichi clan head? Gai that's amazing!" Hayami enthused, knowing how much respect Inoki had for the clan; and not just for their food.

"He, alongside my father, helped teach me the value in strength- both of character and body. I try and pass a lot of what he taught me onto the group...You can't talk though-Inoki-sensei herself as your teacher!"

Hayami blushed, beaming with pride at the compliment to her mentor "She's like a mother to me"

"She is one of the most famous assassins to come out of Konoha" Gai stated, picking at the last of the food in front of him. "All the Anbu wanted to train under her, and were equally terrified to. A lot of people were sceptical when she took on students"

"Sceptical? Why?"

"I suppose they weren't sure what she'd do with three kids, whether they'd even come back alive!"

"We were handpicked I think, children that if we did die...well it didn't matter so much. And she's a lot like your sensei sounds to be honest-gentle, caring...and a little scary at times" she laughed, remembering the times they'd gotten on her bad side over the years with their antics.

"Don't ever say that"

"What?"

"That it wouldn't have mattered. Just because we're ninja doesn't mean our lives don't matter. I can promise you your life mattered to someone, to everyone who knew you"

"I had no family Gai, I was a burden on those who looked after me-they were probably asked before I was taken on training and given up to the town; it's just the facts. My life is so different now, I have a family and people who care for me, and I work hard for them...It...it's my ninja way"

"You do have people who care for you an awful lot, and I just know that if I'd have known you back then i'd have cared a lot then too!


	10. Chapter 10

Evening all! I'm happy to report i've got the next two chapters written :)

If people are interested you can follow me on twitter at Oraeliaa, where I do post updates (such as me losing the chapter where Gai and Hayami finally kiss and having to rewrite it) and you can ask me anything or submit suggestions ect (such as wanting to see a date), i'm always happy to hear from people :D

Thank you to all our new followers, to Mikomi121 and our guest for the review, and to Yurei Hanatsuki for the private message!

* * *

The sun blared through the window as Hayami Ake tried to be significantly less awake than she currently was. Last night had been the best evening she'd had in a long time; but their beer had turned into beers, which had become beers and sake; which had then turned into three or four whiskeys before they left and she had vague memories of them carrying each other home as Gai insisted he would protect her from wrongdoers with his drunken fist.

Oh god sitting up was a bad idea. She lay back down and scrambled on the side table for what she knew drunken Hayami will have left her- some cold peppermint tea and pain killers. She wondered if Gai would be the same next door but imagined he probably jumped from bed shouting about youth and setting about to do some pullups to get the blood pumping.

Well her blood could stay right where it was thank you very much.

She had at least 2 stupid romance books and her favourite pajamas- she'd be fine having a day off training.

Speaking of the devil, she wondered if he could hear her...she grabbed the book from the bedside shelf and threw it at the connecting wall.

"Gai!"

No answer

"GAI"

A second book joined it's comrade, sacrificed to the overwhelming might of the wall.

A muffled reply, surprisingly groggy "...yami?"

"Not coming to training!" she shouted through the wall,

A noise of questioning responded. Followed by a muffled thump. Followed by a weird dragging noise? She lay back, pulling the spare pillow over her head, hating herself not only for the state she was in but also how pathetic it was, though she consoled herself with the fact it had been months since she'd last really gone drinking.

Was that? She frowned under the pillow, it sounded like her window opening...that explained the dragging noise-must have been his own window on the opposite site. Yep there were definitely footsteps in her bedroom. She wanted to say surely he wouldn't have essentially broken into her bedroom like a green clad pervert, but knew better than to think he'd recognise the boundaries he was currently crossing. He was so adorably oblivious.

"If you're here to kill me do out swiftly, put me out of my misery, have mercy" she whimpered in pathetic jest.

A laugh, and the steps stopped at the foot of her bed

"I'm not getting up" she groaned into the pillow, replacing it and patting the bed, not caring enough to be shy or embarrassed. It sank under his weight as he violently landed face first beside her.

"We can't cancel training because the teachers had too much beer" he groaned into the pillow.

She paused, brain beginning to grind into power as she considered her answer. "it'd be the most youthful thing you've done in years?"

He groaned in increasing volume for a few seconds in response to her statement and finally leapt up, her protective pillow in hand. He turned slightly green before posing valiantly; making her laugh. "I am going to go to work, and give a fine example of perseverance to our team!"

Dragging herself up, she couldn't help but smile widely back to him, mirroring with a more feeble thumbs up of her own. "You're own your own Gai, I only have a date with a cold shower and my books" she said, gesturing to the shower and the books, discarded against the wall.

"Should I wait in case you need rescuing?" he teased

She only threw the other pillow at him in response.

* * *

She'd always been amazed by the confident ease of romantic books; and this was no exception. In her books there were no awkward moments. The women were never sweaty, they glistened. If the weather was bad it only created tighter moments taking shelter from storms huddled in each other's arms. They were often damsels in distress, finding themselves in ridiculous situations needing to be swept up into safety by the muscled arms of their saviors. The irony of it all wasn't lost on her by a long shot; but she was not the effortlessly beautiful and unkempt heroine; and Gai certainly wasn't the dashing, debonair pirate captain confidently wooing her with reckless abandon.

She marked the page and slipped backwards in the book to the previous chapter, finding the meticulously highlighted passage describing the valiant and dangerous pirate captain, instantly noticeable with it's bright orange overlay.

She imagined Gai as the pirate captain as described in the passage- shirtless, scarred chest spattered with salt water, loose pants tucked into boots as he swung from the rigging, slightly longer hair flowing behind him in the sea air, and couldn't help a small squeal, rolling on her back and dropping the book to one side. She imagined herself in the role of heroine, all luscious curves and soft spoken pleasantries, chest heaving in a soaked dress as her hair blew wild, but somehow also perfect. A seductress, rather than the awkward introvert she knew she was.

Maybe that's why he just wasn't interested.

She knew the sight of her nude had distracted him back when it first happened, but honestly he hadn't even tried to hold her hand last night! There had been nothing but amazing, fantastic friendship. She wasn't going to kid herself by saying she'd give up; knowing that she still hoped constantly that there was something there, but their friendship was increasingly becoming something she cherished...it wasn't worth ruining that by confessing whilst he seemed content to just be her friend.

She rolled back to her front on the thick blanket, and went back to the book; excited to see what the author had planned for Isabelle now she was trapped within the pirate ships gallows.

She'd always been able to lose herself and her worries in a book, and today would be no exception.

* * *

By the afternoon she knew she had to try and eat and so put her book down, enjoying the warmth of the midday sun on her face. She was glad that she'd dragged herself from her house to her favourite spot next to the river hours before, the fresh air always made her feel better.

She'd decided on a relaxed yellow sundress, one of her lesser worn favourites, which was currently doing a great job of keeping her cool. She could hear the distant noises of various teams training around her, and regretted skipping out on the team and leaving Gai to handle it alone. She'd always been strong and determined when injured, persevering through- but throw a sniffle or a hangover or a sickness bug at her and she knew fully well that she turned into a groaning toddler.

She nodded, stashed the book in her beaded fabric bag and setting off to collect her team for sustenance. It had been so long since she'd had a day off. Before she had to pay rent and bills and such the team worked regularly but also ensured they were regularly having down time-something Inoki had insisted upon growing up. She'd always loved water, and the team would often swim and fish, using their days off to enjoy freshly grilled fish and foraged fruits and vegetables whilst playing in nearby lakes and rivers. Looking back some of their most simple relaxed days were the best memories she had.

The memory warmed her as she moved forwards, away from the dumpling van she was originally planning on pardoning and towards the forest- determined to enjoy the beautiful day with the people rapidly joining the close circle she considered "family"

It was Gai that spotted her first as she entered the clearing and her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of him. He was warm, that much was obvious as a slight sweat collected on his brow and his lips held slightly parted from exercise. He'd scraped his hair back from his face with one hand, highlighting his chiselled cheekbones and soft brown eyes. His cheeks were flushed, likely also from the heat, she suspected, and she waved gently, calling out her hellos.

"Hayami-sensei you look lovely today, Gai said you weren't well but you, well, you look like a radiant daffodil!" Lee enthused, running over. She must have been practically burgundy with the intensity of her blush and thanked him quietly, hoping that Gai possibly felt the same and worrying that she looked ridiculous…

"you look lovely, but think I preferred the patterned pyjamas from this morning, what were they, frogs?" he teased, causing her blush to deepen. "I'm surprised to see you up" he laughed.

"Gai sensei what were you doing in Hayami's bedroom?" Tenten asked, a smirk adorning her pretty features.

Hayami spluttered in shock, realising how it must have sounded. "nono, it's not like that! Gai climbed _into_ my bedroom this morning not out of it!"

Three shocked looks met her as the three students tried to make sense of what was being said.

"Oh god no I mean, I didn't feel well so got his attention through the wall but he wanted to check on me so somehow got in through my bedroom window"

Tenten looked at the Gai, horrified. "Sensei did you force entry into a woman's bedroom?!"

Neji, who had been a silent observer, stoic as always, just shook his head and laughed softly. "you should work on being a more responsible adult"

"Stop! Gai did nothing wrong, he can come into my bedroom whenever he wants!" Hayami interrupted, not able to stand them thinking he was doing anything wrong. Then she realised what she said as even the oblivious man himself looked taken aback.

Silence.

Then raucous laughter.

When it settled, she lifted her burning face from her hands and pointed back the way she came. "I didn't just come to embarrass myself… would you like to take the afternoon to play in the sun?"

Their faces lit up like gleeful children, and they turned to their sensei, who nodded. "training isn't just for our bodies, it's important to train our hearts as well! Let's make youthful memories that burn into our hearts forevermore!"


	11. Chapter 11

She'd seen the group excited before, determined and passionate; but never this gleeful. They had an amazing innocence about them that was incredibly refreshing to see in a group of young ninja. She lead them back to her spot from earlier, happily allowing the team to take the lead on making a fire and fishing for their lunch.

She leaned back on the blanket she'd pulled back out from the pack, sipping some cool orange blossom tea. They'd passed the tree on their way back and interestingly it was Neji who had walked over to see what she was doing, plucking the fragrant star shaped flowers. Together they'd boiled a small pot of water, seeping the flowers until the tea smelt and tasted amazing. She'd shown him that by making it incredibly strong, it can be diluted into a refreshingly cold drink without losing the flavour; and was now happily sat with him watching the others jump around in the river, chasing fish.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Pardon?"

"This" he gestured to them all. "Training with us, teaching us, taking Tenten for lunch, showing me how to make tea"

Hayami's eyebrows furrowed, and she looked at the young man with confusion and a small amount of hurt. "Neji, I don't understand...have I made you unhappy?"

"No. But apart from your infatuation with sensei, I can't figure out why you go to such lengths. What do you expect to gain from this? If it's purely to catch his attention i think just telling him would be a better approach"

"Neji...I admit, I do...have feelings for Gai" she said quietly "but I'm here because I want to be, because I can be. The four of you are very important people to me now- at first I admit I was here to try and make him notice me...but my motive changed very quickly-I wanted to improve myself, and then I wanted to spend more time with you all, to teach you all...it's been very fulfilling. Even when it's just how to make tea" she gestured to the pot "I hope you haven't thought of me as the kind of person to pretend to like the people around me in order to attract a man, or to manipulate friends to my advantage like that, like assets instead of people"

"I apologise, I simply wanted to understand. I spent a lot of my life thinking that my path was set for me, that people had no power to change it. My dream is to continue forging my own path. I wanted to understand your path, where you foresee it going with this course of action...what is your dream Ake-senpai?"

"I've told you Hyuuga-kun" she emphasised the honorific, "call me Hayami. As for my dream...well I don't know. To continue growing my family I suppose"

His eyebrows raised "to have children?"

She chuckled "well one day i'd like that, I admit. But no, more like continuing with this" she mirrored his earlier gesture, motioning to them all. "I don't know whether i've told you this, but I had no real family growing up-I was raised by relatives but they didn't want me there. My team, my sensei were the first real family i've known-and I love that Gai wants that for you all too. To be family. You've all become special to me, and I consider you all part of that family too. I want to have a wide family of friends that I can make happy, that I can fight for"

He nodded, and the two fell into contemplative silence, enjoying watching the three others run in the water, more playing than fishing. Tenten was on Lee's shoulders, trying to topple their sensei into the water.

"You can always join them, you know" Hayami said gently to the young man, staring into his tea-obviously deep in thought after their conversation

"I know"

"And yet you choose to sit here with me? Why?"

The young man was quiet for a few moments, before turning the cup in his hands and answering, eyes never leaving the clear liquid. "I am a very serious person; my team aren't always the same. I feel I would…"

"Bring them down?"

He simply nodded, and Hayami sighed, passing him a few more flowers to add to the pot.

They sat quietly for a few moments longer "you've been in a team for years now Neji, you've all grown together-Gai tells me you've grown the most since your team were formed- why don't you go down there and join in?"

When he didn't move she added "stay here with me if you like, I like how you're someone I can sit quietly with and always enjoy your company. No ulterior motive at all, I promise. However, if you were to say, take your jacket off and leave it here, then go down there to pass on the message to Gai that I want to ask him something you could maybe splash Lee and start a water fight-I know it would make the two of them very happy. You don't need to change for them Neji, they love you just the way you are"

"...also, Neji?"

"mmm?"

"It's not that obvious is it?"

He chuckled, "I don't think he's realised if that's what you're worried about. Tenten had to point it out to Lee so you're probably good"

Hayami sighed in relief and rubbed her face, hiding it in her knees, flashing him a thumbs up.

They continued sitting for another couple of minutes, and then he slowly stood and walked to the water. He didn't take of his jacket as she suggested, or splash Lee; but did stand on a rock suggesting ways they could better subdue their sensei.

She smiled, watching them work together to soak their teacher, who dramatically fell clutching his heart and claiming treason. How they managed to get the stoic boy into the water she didn't know, but suddenly there he was, spluttering and looking ready to kill before laughing and joining in. She wished she had a camera, but for now she simply committed it to memory and turned back to her book, sighing happily at the feeling of warm sun on her exposed shoulders.

* * *

Shade hit her suddenly, and mirroring their position from his morning a much more wet Gai stood at the foot of the blanket, making her squeal as the cold droplets of water fell from his soaked jumpsuit onto her bare legs.

"you're getting me all wet!"

His face split into a wide smile.

"oh no Gai, no you don't! No!" she shouted, laughter bubbling through and cracking her purposefully stern expression. She leapt up and jogged away, screaming as he flicked water at her. The team looked up just in time to see her scream loudly as he tackled her, arms around her small waist, and lifted her into the air. The moisture from his body soaked into the back of her dress and god it was so cold!

Her small legs wriggled in the air as he carried her towards the stream, laughter coming from all five at the situation, and the three youths triumphant as she was unceremoniously dunked into the icy river- skirt floating up around her waist. She flailed slightly and popped up, hair sliding from the loose top bun to fall around her face. She ducked back under and pulled the bobble, sliding it over her wrist, dragging her long hair from her face as she strode out of the water, hands moving to her hips to glare at the group.

She raised from the water until she was stood, soaked to the skin and dripping water, and ran at the taller man, knocking into his chest, screaming triumphantly as he barelled into the water. She couldn't stop laughing, hysterics as she straddled his midsection and gestured for the others come help as she held him in place and they splashed water at each other. The water was shallow enough that their shoulders were easily out of the water, even sat down as they were. It had been possibly years since she'd last played like this and it was so childishly fun.

"Do you give?" she asked, moving from splashing to tickling his ribs, Lee sat on Gai's legs, back against her own to desperately try and stop him from escaping, Neji and Tenten laughing to the side.

"Never!" he shouted, managing to finally toss Lee into the water, and she squealed in surprise as he managed to get himself sat up. She hadn't realised the position they had been in before, where exactly she'd been sat or how close they were until they were suddenly face to face; and all she could focus on was the blood pounding in her ears. The movement of his hands snapped her out of it though as he once again grabbed her, this time at her thighs, hands on the bare skin and stood. Out of the water her dress clung to her and covered his hands. She automatically wrapped her legs around him, arms round his neck to stop herself simply sliding down him into the water as his hands suddenly left where they were to similarly attack her midsection; not realising how horrifically ticklish she was.

"I don't think that's appropriate around your team Gai"

They froze, the five of them taking a millisecond to evaluate the situation and realising how it looked, two adults in a very compromising position, with three youths looking on as if there was absolutely nothing weird about this, which in truth there wasn't, innocent as it was to the five of them.

She immediately fell off him like a startled starfish, landing back first in the water. She threw herself up into a sitting position, lifting her hair where it had plastered itself over her eyes and looking up the silver haired man; "Kakashi!" Gai shouted, waving enthusiastically at the other man. He leant down and held out a hand, face a little bashful "truce?"

She grabbed it, and let a smile crack through once more, nodding to the truce and allowing him to pull her from the water. She landed against his chest and her embarrassed flush only darkened at the knowledge his friend was still near them, a pink haired girl around the team's age behind him, laughing into her hand. A flutter of hope spurred through her as he smiled down at her, hands still connected.

They began the walk back to the blanket; Hayami very glad she hadn't worn the white dress instead of the yellow, that would have only made it so much worse. Her head was hung in shame, she'd gotten so wrapped up in just having fun that she'd been entirely inappropriate, totally oblivious to how overtly sexual their situation had been. The fire's warmth hit her instantly as she wrapped herself in the blanket and dried off, eyebrows furrowed as she pulled it over her head, eyes peeking out to meet Gai's as he called his friend over.

"Ami...Hayami" he corrected himself, "this is Kakashi, my eternal rival" he said, entirely too casually for one introducing an eternal rival. She chuckled, smiling and bowing to the man, mirroring the respect Gai obviously afforded him, before shaking his hand and gesturing for the two men to sit. She knew that she knew this man from somewhere, it was annoying her…Of course she had probably seen him around town at some point but still...

"Kakashi" he continued, sitting a small distance from her, "this is Hayami, my…" he seemed to lose his words, faltering over what to call her and her heart instinctively leapt. He laughed loudly, clapping her on the shoulder. The silver haired ninja's one visible eyebrow raised at the two, obviously enjoying the scene before him "well Gai, your?" he gestured.

"She's Gai-sensei's neighbor" Neji offered, joining them at the fire with a handful of fish, skewered ready to cook, followed by the Lee carrying much of the same.

"She's been training us, and been training with us" Lee continued, and she shot both a look of thanks.

"Oh really?" kakashi asked "Creating a couple of infiltrators out of Gai's taijutsu prodegies?"

Gai looked between the two, smiling wide "Hayami, your reputation proceeds you!"

"Forgive me Kakashi, do we know each other?" she asked, uncertain

"I was in anbu before I became a teacher, you lead a couple of my missions"

Ahh of course, he would have been covered in a mask, it was the silver hair and the slightly bored tone of voice she recognised. He was proficient in the sharingan, the copycat ninja. "Of course, my apologies"

She took the fish from Neji, and distributed them between the group; waving over Tenten and the pink haired girl.

"It's of no bother to me" Kakashi nodded, accepting a fish. The sun went down as the group chatted, eating and listening to stories of the two men's eternal rivalry, a concept that was so utterly Gai, and entertained her to no end.

* * *

Her night that night unfortunately did not end in a moonlit walk as it would have in one of her books, where they gently kissed in the moonlight- it ended in her being pulled away by Anbu that appeared from the trees and drew her away-and she unquestionably followed. They led her to an intel room, where a circle of Anbu waited.

She bowed, fist over her chest when she entered, aware how dishevelled she looked in her stained sundress and loose hair compared to the perfectly uniformed others, but it didn't matter in the somber mood of the room, the seriousness hidden behind the red and white masks of the others.

She sat with them, nervous for what on earth this all meant, for what was happening for her to be pulled into an Anbu meeting. She'd turned them down once before, and since had never sat at this side of the room, only at the front-giving directions and instructions. Never here, sat within the ranks of the masked individuals.

It was difficult to say a familiar face stood before them, but a familiar mask did, a rabbit mask with vivid red swirls adorning it's cheeks. She stood, legs slightly apart, arms crossed in front of her chest and nodded to the room, passing forwards a dossier.

"We've lost one of our own, and we need to get her back-Hayami, we've invited you here as our lead expert on this case; we need your gifts for this one and knew you'd want to be involved, but if you get too personal we pull you out. One of our most gifted assassin has gone MIA-Hikaru Kumi, codename Tora.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note-I apologise for nothing.

Thank you to the always lovely Mikomi121, to Shannon, Erasmith and Hearthstone for the reviews; and to everyone that's favourited or followed or given Kudos 3 love you all!

Her blood ran cold.

She'd lost friends before, no ninja hadn't-but they'd all been acquaintances, never...never family. All she could see flashing through her mind was his face, smiling, laughing, glaring, pouting. She tried not to think about his last words to her, probably some nonsense… instead focusing on the plan being given to her.

It was easy, like clockwork, to shut herself down.

She was methodical, making notes and suggestions, asking about the exact intel they'd received, the validity of their source, the location and means of entry.

She knew of the mole, his information was good-she'd used them herself on many an occasion, and knew of the position Hayami was in. It wasn't fantastic. His mark had caught him, it looked like the whole job had been a set up. One branch of the team would be leaving to find and...fix that little problem.

The other team was the one she'd been in, finding her friend. They'd been searching for solid leads on the group for some time, and it wasn't until his description came onto the underground betting books that they had such a formidable clue. She didn't know whether it was intentional or some horrific twist of fate that the project she'd been working on for months had now come back for her in such a personal, haunting way.

His position for the most part was simple. He would be thrown into a gladiator style ring, forced to battle; and then sold. Rich men and women would often purchase them, and then the trail would go cold. She'd rushed to so many coordinates in the past year just to find empty, bloodstained arenas in abandoned factories and buildings. Sometimes someone's loved one was left to rot where they'd fell-and the rare person that escaped, dragging themselves to a local village had always reported of being bought and used for...anything and everything-controlled with drugs and violence like animals.

And she knew Hikaru wouldn't be one to die where he dropped, so she had to get to him before then. Before he went to the highest bidder and vanished like the others.

Her feet carried her home to prepare but her mind...it was purely on Hikaru. What state would he be in when they found him? What if she was wrong, what if he was too injured to fight back...what if she did have to bring back his body?

Did Jun know? Did Inoki know? She had to bring him back, had to get a message out to them-jobs be damned. This mission wasn't going to be easy, she needed to draft her own goodbyes just in case…

She paused at her own door, looking to the side; and realised it wasn't even a question as she immediately stepped over the small dividing wall between their houses and tried the handle on his door, stepping into the dark house, as they often did during the day. She wasn't sure when they'd stopped knocking, started just entering...but she often found him making tea in her kitchen before they walked to training together; and vice versa depending on who was up first. Her hand moved towards the light switch, but she hesitated, spotting his form in the dark was asleep, uncomfortably positioned on the sofa.

She paused, bouncing lightly on the balls of her toes. Should she leave?

No.

She needed...well she needed him.

She slowly stepped over, careful not to startle him awake; already feeling her eyes become hot as the events of the meeting caught up to her. She crouched beside him and slid her hand up his arm, squeezing his muscular bicep. "Gai?"

His eyebrows squeezed together, mouth clacking open and closed, tongue darting out to wet his lips. His eyes fluttered open, focusing on the form of her face in the dark room, and he quickly sat up; sleep instantly forgotten. "Hayami what happened?"

Whether it was the gentle shake of the hand on his arm, the stern tenseness of her jaw of the worry in her eyes, she didn't know. All she knew was that he immediately pulled her into the space between his legs, arms around her like a vice. And that was it, the dam burst. Tears flowed down her face freely, hiccups wracking her body. "It...it's Hikaru, he's been captured. He's my..."

"Your teammate, brother...I remember. I'm so sorry Hayami"

She laughed through the tears "but you never remember people"

"I remember your people"

Her people...fresh tears bubbled up, and she flung her arms around his neck, face smushing into his neck. He lifted her by the waist, pulling her onto his lap, her legs straddling his and just held her there as she cried, the position so reminiscent of earlier but opposite, so full of hurt and desperation instead of joy. She'd left the group's fun a good three hours before, and he knew that was three hours of holding this panic in, keeping it at bay for the sake of her own pride. She didn't get the same physical mask as the Anbu in the room, who could emote silently without anyone being the wiser.

She knew she should be embarrassed being held like a child, but the feeling of the rise and fall of his chest against hers, the pulse beating in his neck-his breath warm against her ear was overwhelmingly comforting, and she felt her body slow and rest. She didn't pull back though, stayed where she was, glad for the comfort found in the human contact.

"When do you leave?"

"In the morning"

He paused, staring into the blackness ahead of him. "I'll come with you"

"You can't, I'm only allowed to join because of my skill set, my involvement so far, otherwise it's Anbu only"

He rubbed her back absentmindedly, considering his options. He was more than confident in her abilities, but hated the idea of her on a mission without him watching her back. Every mission she'd gone on had been harder and harder for him, and the others, fretting til she returned.

He had to be honest with himself, it was becoming harder and harder as she became more and more important to him.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" he settled with, deciding inwardly how he'd make sure she was safe at least for now.

She paused, and he felt her tense a little, then slowly nod. What was he thinking?! Asking her something so easily misunderstood at such a vulnerable time...He chastised himself as he held her.

They sat in silence for some time, only the sound of their breathing filling the room.

"I'm scared Gai" her voice was quiet, The revelation given to the darkness; that all ninja felt and none vocalised. "I'm scared of what I'm going to find, I've got a bad feeling… It doesn't feel like it's going to go smoothly tomorrow, it feels like I'm not going to come back from this one…"

He held her tighter, "you're coming back, you're going to bring Hikaru back and I just know you'll be the one carrying him through the gates"

She pushed her face tighter into his neck, and he felt the tears warm against his skin, soaking the already wet skin of his neck and shoulder.

"What if i don't? What if i can't bring him back?"

"You will"

"How can you be so certain?" She whispered, voice cracking

"Because I know you"

She pulled away from his neck slightly, listening to his words; letting them wash over her. He had so much trust in her...his voice was clear as always-determination shining through even when his tone was soft. Even when he wasn't posing or jumping into pushups as he spoke his drive and passion came through every word.

Their interactions spun through her mind, dinners, planning sessions, films and the closeness that they always sat; gravitating towards each other, coming into each other's houses unannounced, his actions and words today at the lake. They fit together like puzzle pieces, smashing through her self doubt and forming a clear picture in her mind.

She was so close, and allowed her lips to ghost upon his jaw, all her earlier fear evaporated by the intimacy of their situation and her revelation. He was certain in her, and for the briefest of seconds she was certain of this. She needed to be certain of something, anything right now to anchor her.

"Hayami?" his voice wavered, uncertain. Her lips were so soft, the action so unexpected. Was this a friendly action? Was it even an action? Women kissed each other in a friendly way didn't they? He was pretty sure they didn't do it so gently though...He desperately wanted to turn his head, to catch those dark pink lips against his own, but held his body in check to stop him automatically responding to the mental image of kissing her in their current position. He refused to take advantage of her emotional state in such a way.

She felt his heart rate increase, and pressed her cheek against his own, pulling back lightly. She knew this was the right thing to do so surely in her heart. Everything was in perspective now.

Her hand found his jaw, evening stubble rough against her palm, and she met his half lidded, slightly terrified gaze and realised that she was just as oblivious as he was, and with everything going on, being scared of this, something as obvious as it was...was frankly ridiculous. She moved forwards, and set her lips against his, hand moving forwards into the hair at the base of his head as he paused in shock before groaning and pulling her flush against him; returning her kiss with breathtaking enthusiasm.

She finally had to pull away to catch her breath, and the sight of him, face flushed, eyes glassy, ignited a fire deep within her. She knew they probably needed to discuss this, put the brakes on and make sure it was the right thing to do but right now she didn't care as he reached for her face and breathlessly pulled her back to him; the sensation of his tongue against hers removing any inkling of thought from her brain.

It was Gai that acted the adult, eventually pulling back and rubbing away the lingering tears that rested on her flushed cheeks. "You need to sleep; you've got a long couple of days ahead of you"

"Ever the teacher Gai" she smiled, pressing her face into the large palm caressing her cheek.

"I'll stay down here Hayami, you take the bed"

"If we're sleeping in separate beds i'll just go to my own house" she teased, gracefully rising from his lap and holding out her hand for his.

He went bright red "Ami, I...don't think that's the best idea. I won't take advantage of you whilst you're in such an emotional place"

She looked at him, and a smirk slid up her face. "Gai i'm not inviting you to bed like that. I appreciate the gallantry though" The smirk turned shy, and she couldn't help but look at her bare feet "I just...I want to be close to you…"

"I think i've wanted to be close to you for a long time Hayami" he answered; and the directness of his statement caused her heart to flutter. She had always admired how straightforward he was, direct and bold; but announcing it like that, she thought her heart would explode.

"Why...why didn't you say anything?" she asked quietly, asking herself as much as him.

"I'd never...i didn't think" he said, moving his hands in the air in front of him

"We're both hopeless idiots aren't we Gai" she laughed, quickly walking forwards to kiss him again, revelling in its return.

He rested his forehead on hers and laughed loudly as always. "For waiting this long, yes"


	13. Chapter 13

Authors note

Apologies for the fact the chapters a day late, I've had a hell of a week- hope you enjoy :)

Thank you to Ilevin, TitanXyz, Erasmith and Mikomi for the reviews on , and to Lixsus and Gloria on AO3!

* * *

Whatever her head was resting on, it felt rough against her face, which was swollen and stiff with dried blood and god knows what else. Where was she? She didn't move, taking the time to try and piece together the hazy parts of her memory. If she kept her eyes closed, and didn't think about the cold floor against her skin she could almost pretend this horrid mission hadn't taken place yet, that she was still wrapped up warm in bed in borrowed pajamas at her boyfriend's house.

Boyfriend. It still sounded impossible-it had been merely a concept for so long that the idea of it being reality was still slightly unfathomable.

Thinking about that was much nicer than her half conscious painful head and aching muscles, and the realisation of her situation. There were snippets, bits and pieces of memory-the heat of the desert, finding the location, the drive of needing to find Hikaru.

Oh god, Hikaru.

She shot upright, quickly groaning as her head swam and pounded at the change in direction; thick stabbing pains from the side of her forehead. So that was where the blood was from… She could feel it thick on the side of her face, and her eye felt swollen and bruised. She opened her mouth to check over her teeth with her tongue. All present and accounted for, thank goodness. Her eyes were next, left first, then right. Her right eye was definitely black by now, feeling sore and refusing to open properly. Her vision was blurred; or was the room dark?

No, it was blindingly bright, and she pressed her eyes firmly closed against the onslaught of light. She twitched her toes, and pins and needles shot up her legs, she'd obviously been still for some time. They all seemed there though, and the same with her hands, which were also sore and slow from a lack of use.

She had to get out of here though, and find Hikaru. And her team.

And her memory.

Think, think. There's a process to follow. Teeth, eyes, extremities. Teeth, eyes, extremities...standing.

The pins and needles subsided, and she moved slowly towards the on the door, using the bars to pull herself into a standing position.

She raised herself up, legs shaking slightly beneath her. They held her weight though, sore but not broken

"That's it, get yourself up" She muttered to herself, taking pride in the small victory given the immense pain in her head; clouding her every thought.

Her thoughts were slow, but she forced them through, speaking aloud as if to cement the thoughts in reality, drawing them from loose airy words that vanished to reality, ideas that filled the empty air around her.

"Cell. i'm in a cell. Cell means cells. Cells means dungeons" she looked up "small light, not completely open-i'm underground...i'm alone-need to find the team. The outside was small...no it wasn't, it was big. It was really big. Mostly underground. Get your thoughts straight Hayami, make a plan goddamnit."

She looked around the room, sighing in relief when she saw a grimy bucket to her right. Dirty water was better than none. She gagged, the water was...disgusting as she gulped down a handful, throwing another handful over her face to clear off the blood. Gingerly feeling, she had a definite egg on her forehead. She didn't remember how that one had happened...the other cuts and bruises were starting to come back to her though.

Her arms were bruised, some small cuts, and her legs matched. It seemed it was her face that was likely the mess...just fantastic! Everyone loved it when their face was the mess, not their easily hidden extremities…

Her gear was gone, as she imagined. They'd missed the hidden weapons she kept under her clothes though, as she'd hoped.

"Half a job eh, they never strip you down"

"And if they do kick 'em where it hurts" came a dark laugh to her left. Her heart lifted, and she laughed along "Cat?"

"Afternoon Moth, you're a chatty one when you're comin' out of unconsciousness eh?"

"Maybe" she laughed. "Anyone else down here?" she called out, grimacing at the signature croaking in her voice that she just knew meant she'd been out for some time.

"The mark is in the cell opposite yours" Cat answered, "and Rabbits down at the end-other than that we have funnyman at the opposite and probably dead in the cell next to me"

"I'm sure they love their new names" she laughed, before her mind locked onto what Cat had said. "Hikaru?"

"Hey trouble" came a cracked voice from her...left? No, in front of her.

"Hikaru" she laughed a little in relief, glad he was alive.

"That's the one, welcome to my humble abode; it's roomy and has a fantastic shabby chic look but i'm afraid the room service is lacking"

He was always funny, and she groaned lightly at the joke.

"Thanks for telling me you were here when I woke up what, an hour ago?"

"Didn't want to overload you, you were knocked out pretty cold you know Ami"

"Yeah thanks Hikaru, I got that. What the hell happened?"

"They threw you in there, hit your head off the wall" came an unknown voice to the side of her. That must be 'funnyman', as it couldn't be 'probably dead'

"Yeah you were already pretty dazed when you was dragged in, but we heard the sound of your melon hitting the stone pretty clearly there Moth" came Cat again.

That explained it. "Rabbit?" she called out to the now quiet corridor. "You with us?"

"Yeah, i'm in one piece" came Rabbit's soft voice from her cell; quieter than usual.

"What you doing here anyway Ami?" Hikaru interrupted.

"Came to bring your sorry as back" she replied, wanting to throw something at him for getting her in this situation.

"Fancy bringing my ass back too? It'd be more thankful than sorry" the unknown voice, came from the left; amazingly full of humor for the situation. He was definitely 'Funnyman'

"Ill try and get everyone out if I can get myself out first" she said, completely serious as she carefully sat back down, painfully aware of the burning pain in her muscles as she moved. She tore her short cloak, wrapping the strips tightly around the cuts she could find, and trying to remember what exactly had happened between saying goodbye to Gai and the team and getting into this predicament.

* * *

They met at the gates of the town, the team of 5 nodding to each other. She felt confident behind the mask she'd donned-it had been many years since she'd worn it. It was a gift when she became chuunin; they'd all received one. The boys had got matching cat masks, Hikaru's pure black, and Jun's pure white. She remembered receiving hers so vividly, carefully packed in tissue, the first one Inoki-Sensei had received when she joined the anbu- forming the shape of a moth. She hadn't worn it in many years, keeping it hung instead in her bedroom. But now here it was, the body covering her nose, the wings over her face. It was threaded through her hair, braided into a crown around her head, and as she had stepped in front of the mirror that morning she felt complete, and strong in a way she never had before.

She'd chosen not to wear it in the field since moving back to konoha, and she could feel their eyes on her as she stepped towards them. She'd walked alone, saying her goodbyes to Gai in private before heading out into the crisp morning.

She bowed, hand across her chest, and they mirrored the action.

She was Sasayaki Ga, and as she strode ahead of the group discussing the plan with the leader from the meeting she could hear the name whispered upon the lips of the younger anbu. Her sensei was the legend, and she would live up to the mantle bestowed upon her.

* * *

Her mask!

It certainly wasn't on her face, she wouldn't be so cut up if it was. She quickly scanned the room, and then searched it completely, but it was nowhere, not even smashed as it likely was. As the battle came back to her she didn't remember losing it; but then didn't fully remember what had happened either...The blow on her head must have been worse than she'd thought…

"Where are Dog and Frog?" she asked, moving so her back was against the metal bars.

There was silence, tense and thick, then cat's stroppily muttered "Dog sold us out"

She remembered it then, large hands ripping her mask from her face, dark eyes boring into her own as he kicked her into a hole, softly jumping down after her, weapon raised. How had she not seen it? They'd worked together before, not as often as she had with Rabbit but still, it wasn't her first encounter with the large Anbu in the dog mask.

Dog.

Knowing now why Rabbit seemed as quiet as she was, Hayami tried to focus on the events from the previous few days, looking for any hint of a clue that he'd been planning anything different from usual.

* * *

The group ran for two days through the lush forest outskirting Konoha, pausing only to sleep. Those who had worked with her before knew she spent most of the prep writing notes, making sure she knew the strengths and weaknesses of the team she was with, and this was no exception. Their team of 5 consisted of Rabbit, Cat, Frog, Dog and herself, Moth. She'd worked with everyone bar frog, and was glad Rabbit was leading the group-they'd worked together numerous times and knew each other's fighting styles well. They enjoyed each other's company in the quiet way Anbu tended to; not wanting to give out personal information but instead passing the time with games, idle chat, or silence.

A lot of silence

They had a lot of planning to do. Ideally they would observe until they were in a prosperous position, ambush the opponents or sneak into a compound and know exactly by that point what they were doing, usually because someone like herself had staked it out first. On this mission they didn't have that advantage. They would have to be in, out and away quickly, or go in undercover and hope for the best, or simply storm the place and kill everyone. They didn't have enough people for the latter, as much as she wanted to do so to the people who had taken someone so close to her.

It would be the infiltration option then. Did she go in as a noblewoman though, or a servant? A gladiator or a slave up for re-auction?

That is what they sat and discussed over the campsite on their second night. The previous had been spent going over dossiers, looking at who might potentially be there, who they'd need to avoid and who could be an opportune friend at the right moment out of the people they knew would be there.

"We can take out a toff and steal their identity for the night" Cat suggested

"No" Rabbit countered, looking at Cat from behind her mask. "People would notice if a noblewoman went missing"

Dog joined in from where he'd been quietly sat "Servants know each other, they'd realise if she weren't one of them"

Frog, the youngest of the group, argued that surely sneaking in dressed as a servant wouldn't be an issue, as it'd surely be so manic they wouldn't notice a quick in and out. Frog had a good point, it was likely their best option, next to simply sneaking in under the cover of darkness, an idea she had put forwards.

They'd played cards as a group and taken watch into the night, sleeping in short shifts and tweaking their plan. They'd observe and see where the servants were entering from, how they were coming and going and what they were wearing. If it wasn't possible to enter that way, they'd sneak in once nightfall fell. Or both. Dog had put forwards it would be best to have a two pronged approach, with one person keeping watch at each entrance and one passing messages between.

His idea was good, textbook even...how had it become betrayal?


	14. Chapter 14

Authors Note~

Thank you so much to TSK and Mikomi121, for the reviews, I was worried about the last chapter, taking it in the direction I did; so i'm glad no-one seemed to hate it enough to comment as such haha!

* * *

"Cat you were with him on the surface, running between the two watch posts, what happened?" Rabbit asked, so quiet from the other end of the corridor

"The fucker told me you'd sent up your call for backup, that you'd come out 'for air' then gone back in. I ran over to Frog to let them know I wasn't gonna be running for a bit and went back to Dog, put on the servant cloak and shit, then bam; as I dropped in he came in after me! I asked him what he was playin' at-big lug standing out like a sore thumb and all, and he plain as day stuck a needle in my neck! Woke up in here in time to see 'im throw you in here Moth-or should I call you Ami?" she laughed darkly for a moment "Or what did he call you, trouble?"

Hayami groaned in unison with rabbit, who recalled being ambushed in a corner by a guard, having her cloak ripped off her and knocked out by a solid punch. "I was dragged down here, came to and tried to fight my way out but I was still dazed. I think he must have drugged me as well"

Her own fight was starting to solidify now. Less drugs, more trying to stomp on her head and battling with kunai.

"I remember being stowed away in a crate, as planned, then taking off the fake side and sliding into a gap between two walls. I was moving forwards slowly, listening to the gossip of the servants and making my way underground. Then suddenly he was there; pulling me from the shadows. I let my guard down when I saw him, told him to tell me what had gone wrong. When he didn't answer and didn't move his hand from his leg pouch I realised something was wrong and moved away, hoping I was wrong. He lunged at me, and then I remember well...only bits and pieces.

It was frustrating, to say the least. The door stood firm, as did the grate above her head when she jumped up to pull on the bars, hoping her complete body weight might be enough to shake the lock loose. Needless to say it wasn't.

"I can pick the lock on the cell doors easily, but we don't know what we're going into...has anyone mentioned a timeline at all Hikaru, in the time you've been here?"

"I honestly don't know how long i've been here now Ami, at least a week...I've been trying to keep track using the light in your cell. If i have, then we've got a week, tops"

She was surprised, "That long? Our intel said we had to get here immediately, that it was a gladiator style ring arrangement; that you'd be thrown in there to be torn apart, then sold" she argued

He was quiet for a moment "I fought the day before you got here; they said my buyer would collect me in a week or so after the event was done"

* * *

She slept fitfully that night. Whether it was from the anger of their betrayal, the discomfort of her bruises and cuts against the hard sandstone floor, or the way her mind was whirring at a million miles an hour...she couldn't be certain. They needed to get out of here, but to do that they needed a timeline of their enemy; to know their movements and have a definitive window.

She needed eyes.

"Moths, Hikaru"

"Well she's finally cracked" laughed Cat. "You been down here like what, 3 days Mothy, you crack easy!"

"I've not cracked Cat, hear me out. Hikaru, you remember that time in the land of snow where we got caught in that weird snow maze? How did we get out?"

"Sensei summoned... a moth! Used it to look at us from above"

"Bingo. I'll use a lot of small ones instead, get them to scout our exits, to give me our route out of here"

"You're a genius Ami, a bloody genius"

"I'm a genius that needs to know whether you're fit for travel"

She rose from the floor, reaching for the senbon stitched into the fabric of her trousers, and gently worked on the lock; which was old and sand weathered. Old locks were stiff with the keys made to open them, and an absolute pain to pick.

"Hayami"

"Hikaru?"

"I've been worse, but I should be fine to travel. Do you think you have enough chakra to make a longer travelling moth? We could do with some back-up maybe...Inoki or Jun?"

"...or Gai" she muttered, hands pausing.

"What was that?"

"Nothing" she laughed

"Nah, you just said Gai-why would that weirdo come out 'ere?" Cat laughed, and she wished the other ninja could see the glare emanating from her petite and very bruised face.

"Weirdo? Who's a weirdo?" Hikaru asked, confusion lacing his tone

"Hayami over there's muttering bout Maito Gai, tall guy, green jumpsuit? Most enthusiastic man in Konoha?"

"OH! Isn't he your neighbor Ami? You finally actually spoken to him?" he laughed "Recon he'd notice you were gone? You been watering his plants or something?"

"Swoop in like a knight in shining green spandex!" Cat laughed loudly, and she could swear she could hear Rabbit chuckling at the other end of the corridor

She wanted to scream, to threaten to leave them there, to act childishly; but she instead clenched the anger into her fists, pressing against the sides of her thighs. "He, he is a good man; and I would appreciate it if you would shut your mouths" she tensely clipped.

They stopped immediately, and an awkward silence fell upon the corridor. Would he notice? She'd been in this cell for at least three days now, and they'd taken a good 3 days to get here. He would be expecting her back any day; but thinking back to the morning she'd left, he seemed to have total faith in her...would he even realise something had gone wrong?

* * *

Hayami had in fairness, woken up next to, or at least in the vicinity of Gai before. Looking back they had fallen asleep at each other's houses at a level only equalled by 12 year old girls, so this was nothing new. The light playful kissing before they'd fallen asleep was perhaps a little more unique to their current situation.

Except that he wasn't there

She'd felt for him in the bed next to her, but found nothing. Groaning, she rolled from bed, and padded from the room and down the stairs into the kitchen, finding him in a dressing gown the exact shade of green as his jumpsuit, humming to himself.

"Good morning" she yawned, leaning against the doorframe in a large t-shirt. She'd had him practically on the floor laughing the night before as she shuffled into the room in a pair of his pajama bottoms. The legs were rolled up and she was holding the waistband of the trousers to such a level that when she comically raised her arms they pooled around her ankles, the top rising just a slight amount too high for her to not end up blushing horrifically. They'd switched it around for boxers to a more more decent effect.

He span; posing dramatically with a wide smile, a plate of food in each hand. "Good morning! I have prepared you a nutritious breakfast to prepare you for the day ahead!"

He pulled the chair out for her before she could do it herself, and she sat, not quite mentally prepared for the intenseness of his enthusiasm at this time in the morning but loving every moment. The breakfast was mostly eggs, as one would expect from a man mostly constructed of muscle. She was very glad they'd not done this in reversal, as he'd have likely got a fresh apple and possibly some porridge-though the idea of him in her shorts and t-shirt combo was fantastic, and would definitely have to be in her future.

"I wish you could come with me Gai"

"So do I, but we'll be here when you get back; and I know you'll bring him back" he reiterated his statement from the night before, and her pride swelled at his confidence in her.

"I don't understand" he continued, words muffled through food. "You know you're amazing, you know that the Anbu feel more secure when they know you're involved in a mission, and you know you always get the job done to the best of your ability! Why are you so worried this time?"

She hesitated, unsure whether she could say it out loud. "The truth is...I normally work alone. Or I lead a team from the backline, maneuvering them like chess-pieces. I strategise. I plan. I come up with contingencies...This isn't likely going to be like that. I'm going to be in the thick of it-I can't ask someone else to take my place at this event, it has to be me. It has to be me...You've taught me so much Gai, but what if, in that moment i'm like 10 year old me again trying to remember my hand signals mid battle?"

"What you always lacked wasn't ability, it was confidence. Your taijutsu needed work yes, but that was just form and speed training-I knew from the start that you needed to be confident in your ability to be able to use it in battle instead of running! You told us you couldn't manage more than a one on one battle but the team knew from the moment you defeated Neji that that was nonsense, you're naturally aware of your body movements and you're graceful and fast. You're like a dancer that's been told they couldn't manage gymnastics; and has now strengthened and tightened those flowing movements into a rhythmic gymnastics star!"

She was dumbfounded. The boys had always pushed her to the back in fights, kept her out of harm's way and she had always been glad of it, happy that they understood each other's weaknesses and compensated for them, but this was…"a dancer?"

"Yes! You move in a fluid way perfect for stealth, crawling through small spaces and controlling your body with the utmost precision"

"Well if Konoha's Great Green Beast tells me so, who am I to question?" she smirked, widening into a full smile when his face lit up.

* * *

She smiled at the memory of the morning before she left, but also wanted to grimace; he was so confident in her, so steadfast in his belief-he wouldn't be coming any time soon. She focused inwards. Her chakra pool wasn't fantastic, not in her current hungry, tired and injured state.

"I can possibly create a longer distance messenger moth but it'll wipe me out. I'll have to meditate for a couple of days to build up my chakra...what do you all think?"

Rabbit, who had been mostly quiet over the last couple of days, spoke up. "I'm not going to be able to fight my way out of here"

"You shut your mouth Rabbit" shouted Cat, "we're getting you outta here"

"What's your status Rabbit?" Hayami asked, fingers anxiously tapping against her leg, trying to ignore how her role had switched with Rabbit, who had previously been firmly leading the team.

"My leg's cut open; it's...it's bad. I'm so tired"

"Blood loss?"

"Its started to clot but...I cant put any weight on it. I'll just slow you all down, for the sake of the mission you need to leave me behind"

"Ye, Rabbit, that's not happening" Cat snapped, "we're not leaving you behind"

"We came in together, we're leaving together...Hikaru, you strong enough to carry me out of here when I undoubtedly run out of chakra?" she laughed darkly, forming the hand signs needed to complete their plan.

"I reckon you've carried me out of enough holes Hayami; it's about time I carried you out of one"


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note- apologies for the delay, updates will likely be on Tuesdays for now. If anyone here is also from England, you'll understand the pain that is having to avoid social media until Monday evening after work to watch Game of Thrones. It's bad. So anyway by the time we've eaten and had friends round to watch the episode it's too late to write a chapter! Hope everyone's alright with Tuesday; please have sympathy for my plight.

* * *

She looked down at the collection of moths before her, 15 Nepticulid moth. She wanted to summon the messenger moth, but couldn't guarantee it'd get there in time, or that it wouldn't be a waste of chakra. At only 0.1 inch wingspan they should be inconspicuous, filtering as slowly as they were from her prison room.

Her moths moved up through the grate and out through the door, and she slipped back into a meditative position, knowing she needed to build her strength if they were to fight their way out of here.

Today marked their third day in this sandy hole; and the sun was already falling, and they were already a day late home. Cat seemed to be well, hikaru only battle bruised, and herself...well she'd be fine. She had no idea if the man in the cell next to hers was competent in battle; and rabbit was worrying her. She'd always been quiet, so it was nothing unusual for her to not be chatty whilst they were all cooped up in here. Hearing that she was definitely suffering blood loss though...and if it was as open as it sounded, it would likely already be infected.

Her eye was black now, according to the murky reflection in the dirty water, though wasn't quite as swollen as it had been. She'd been saving the stale and musty bread that had been brought down, rationing it out for when they were outside of here, to last her through the desert. If they could get to the oasis they'd set up camp in, she'd be able to hopefully procure her pack. If they couldn't...well she'd have to make it work.

She needed her energy balls, filled as they were with medicinal herbs, coconut and peanut butter. They always helped perk her up, and with it she'd hopefully have enough chakra to summon a carrier moth; even if she did then pass out on it's back. Hikaru had piloted one before, albeit with all the grace of someone who's slipped onto the underside of his horse. At least he could just ask really nicely for her to take them home, without having to pilot completely...hopefully

Depends on the stubbornness of the moth, she internally laughed, remembering the screaming journey he'd taken them on once before. The humorous memories were a welcome distraction as she watched the square of light slim down, until it was merely a glimpse of moonlight; and she quietly opened the metal door, picked hours before. They had been given food that evening, and she knew they'd be safe from any visitors from what Hikaru had said.

"Rabbit" she whispered, alerting the other woman to her presence so as to not alarm her in the dark corridor.

"It's...it's Tohru"

Hayami's hands made quick work of the lock, feeling for the movement of the tumblers within.

"My name's Hayami"

"Hi Hayami" she greeted, voice shaky and weak

"Let's get a look at that leg shall we Ra...Tohru"

She could smell the blood in the air; and carefully maneuvered the leg into the moonlight brought through from Rabbit's skylight grate.

It was bad.

The makeshift bandages she'd created from her own torn clothes were soaked through with blood, and as she'd feared, infection had begun to set into the wound. It wasn't a clean cut, and Rabbit...Tohru, she reminded herself, explained that it had gotten caught on a piece of jagged metal as she was dragged down. She merely nodded grimly at the sight before her, and wished she had enough chakra, and better knowledge, in order to properly make an attempt to heal it before they set off. Instead she tore off the end of her own travelling cloak, and tied it as tightly as she could around the gaping wound, hoping it would be enough. She didn't even have access to any pain killing herbs...it would be a difficult exit tomorrow night, she knew, to the very depths of her soul.

* * *

The moths returned slowly, over the next day, and she knew the exit they'd have to take. The shortest distance was swimming with people, but the quieter one could be too long for Tohru's leg...Her fingers drummed against the stone floor purposefully, looking down at the map she'd created in the dust, created from the quietest whispers of the smallest moths.

They could either travel in the daytime, try and melt into the collection of people in that busy path, or go at night and hope they weren't seen; or go the hidden, longer path that night and simply possibly have to carry their former leader...And she still had to unpick Cat, Hikaru and the unnamed Funnyman's cells...Checking the corridor, she crept through, and began on Hikaru's door, opposite her own. Up close she could see him properly, his red hair shining brightly against his slightly gaunt, pale face.

"We need to get some food in you Hikaru, you're looking all skinny" she smiled, slender fingers working the lock with practiced ease.

"You can treat me to ramen when we get home then. Followed by me passing out in your spare room for a solid 72 hours of sleep"

She chuckled, and winked at him "one bbq pork with extra beansprouts"

"Mmm...that'll taste better than the stash of stale bread i've been saving"

She bit down on her lip, and gestured to her own cell, where her jacket, tied into a makeshift bag; contained her own rations. "Great minds think alike"

"Only if great is bread so stale it'll take off the roof of your mouth" he quipped, holding one of her picks steady as she moved the other one with minute motions, knowing she knew he noticed the gentle shaking of her hands; but neither mentioning it aloud.

The bolt finally slid, and the door moved lightly under his pressure, and he moved forwards into the gap, poking her on the tip of the nose before pulling her tight into his arms. "When we're out of here, I want you to give me the scoop on this Gai chap" he whispered against the top of her head, stubble poking hard onto her scalp. "Th...there's no. Well I mean...There's not much to say; I...um…" she pulled away, rubbing down her clothes as if it would remove the many creases and grime embedded into the fibres, and resorting to lightly slapping him in the back of the head before lightly shoving him back into the room and moving down to the next cell.

"Smooth Ami, smooth"

She merely reacted in an incredibly rude hand gesture as she moved down to the remaining two cells; freeing Cat, who looked well if incredibly bored and fed up with the confinement; before moving onto their resident stranger.

"Well hello there" he greeted, voice deep as always as she approached.

Seeing him closely, he was remarkably normal. When you can only hear someone's voice; it's easy to imagine anyone and anything but he was just...average. Remarkably so. Normal height, normal weight, short brown hair that was pulled backwards with dirt. The only stand out thing about him was the intense black tattoos covering his chest; forming dark swirls that stood up against his pale skin.

"Evening, you got a name?" she asked, sliding her picks into the lock.

"I kind of like Funnyman, don't think i've ever been commended for my witty humour before"

"Oh yeah? What do you normally get commended for?"

He leaned forwards, waggling his eyebrows towards her "my abilities with the ladies of course"

All of her breath came out of her nose at once in an incredibly unladylike snort as she swore at the slipped picks.

"No? Not won over?"

"Apologies, i'm afraid no amount of talented eyebrow waggling will win me over"

"I suspect someone is making an honest woman out of her" Hikaru called out quietly from his cell "But she refuses to tell me about it"

The pout was painfully obvious in his tone, and she shook her head, hands carefully working on the lock in front of her.

"Wait wait wait. Is that why you were mentioning that bowl headed menace yesterday Mothy?" Cat laughed from behind her; and then paused at the green headed woman's lack of response.

"Seriously?" Cat snorted from behind her, "but he's so"

"Enough Cat" came the quiet, tired tone of their leader, enough to set the corridor back to silence; their quiet laughter and conversations gone.

"But"

"No Cat"

Hayami nodded to Tohru respectfully as she turned back to the cell. "What's your name then?"

He groaned "Call me Omo"

She nodded, and gestured for the others to follow; collecting her brief belongings before taking one of their leaders arms over her shoulder and heading into the vague unknown that was the corridor leading to their freedom.

* * *

Hayami was tucked behind a wall, watching and waiting; for the gaggle of young women to pass; focusing on keeping her breathing quiet. There were 4 of them, carrying laundry by the looks of it; and hopefully they wouldn't be back this way, thought she couldn't knock them out without arousing suspicion.

They were having to move slowly, going from point to point where she could find hidden alcoves and nooks enough to fit the group in; and she was both understanding and frustrated. They couldn't move quickly due to both their groups size and Tohru's injuries, but she refused to leave anyone behind.

The problem with directions from moths, is that they're not always the easiest to follow; more akin to a riddle gently given in the smallest whisper; so they had to be even more careful as she only had a vague idea of where she needed to be going. The corridors looked identical, the floors were all the same stone, and the same sand filled the corners. Every set of stairs she found were a small victory, and she memorised the route, returning to the group to move them onwards.

"We need to move faster Hayami" came a panicked whisper behind her right ear as they moved as a unit to the next set of stairs upwards, which she'd scouted to be empty above. A previously, but no longer locked pair of store cupboards would serve as their next cubbyhole until she could find a safe means of getting to the next level of their recent home.

"Really Hikaru? I was quite enjoying our relaxed pace" she hissed back, darting forwards and gesturing for the group to do the same; glad at least for Rabbit's perseverance as she limped forwards and allowed the group to lift her up the stairs. She gestured rapidly for Rabbit, Cat and their mysterious un-named friend to go into the first cupboard, whilst herself and Hikaru slid into the one opposite.

"What are we going to do? At this rate we're certainly going to be caught, and I need to actually find the stairs for the final level"

"What do you mean?" he hissed back, eyes narrowed. "I thought the moths told you where to go"

"They give more of a jumbled idea that makes more sense as we move onwards, but the next bit is a ladder...we're going to have to carry Rabbit upwards!"

"How long is the ladder?"

"I don't know! The moth's are the size of your fingernail-they don't judge distance well!"

He simply stared at her, eyebrows high into his hairline.

"I needed to get us out of here before Rabbit lost a leg and you got shipped out to some randy noblewoman in the land of snow, I worked with what I had. Which with my current level of Chakra and your inability to summon anything useful wasnt much"

Heavy steps came outside, passing and moving around the corner had them tensed, angry and close to each other, switching to tense panic as they held their breath and prepared to have to leap from the room in defence. They relaxed, breathing deeply before moving from the room.

"Wait, Hayami"

She paused, hand on the door and turned to face him, one eyebrow raised. He gently raised a hand to her shoulder, squeezing and looking her dead in the eye.

"Thank you...for coming for me"

"Hikaru...it's...of course I came for you"

"Anyway, get off. Your breath stinks" he switched it back, away from seriousness; patting her on the shoulder and moving past her, opening the door and checking the corridor and darting across to the other room. She paused in the doorway, smirking at him as he flashed her a cheeky grin.

She hadn't seen him in some time, but she was always glad to be reminded that you really didn't need to be related to someone to be their sibling.


	16. Chapter 16

If Hikaru Kumi could wipe an image from his memory, it would be the one that had unfolded before his eyes an hour before.

An hour of panic,of screaming, of being held back, of begging to be released so he could use whatever bleak energy he had left to jump from this bloody moth and down to the woman he called family, who he knew in his heart would always be his sister.

He just lay now, painfully aware of his own pathetic ineptitude. What would he have been able to do anyway? He was battered from the fight, injured heavily as they all were; but Hayami, she'd been magnificent, punching, tossing and kicking a carved path through their enemies like a madwoman, miles from the defensive battler he'd grown up with. Whoever her neighbor was that she'd been seeing; he'd trained her incredibly. His mind kept flitting back to the day up to that point, her excited look as they'd ducked into another private space and she'd told him it was new, their relationship. She was like a giddy teenage girl again and he'd teased her mercilessly, ruffling her hair and making kissy faces as they'd darted silently through the winding network of paths. It was just like old times, running for their lives together from a stupid situation he'd more than likely created that she was pulling him out of; chastising him silently with her eyes as she plotted their escape.

...And he hadn't even grabbed her... he'd just sat there, watching as she dropped through the air; eyes never leaving his. Those beautiful, wide, terrified eyes holding his own gaze as time seemed to slow around them, frozen in place until it was too late.

He closed his eyes, dry from the tears that had shamelessly rolled in fat drops down his face, and she was all he could see, face at first weary but relieved, hands shaking with exhaustion and chakra deprivation, patting the fluff of the enormous moth and telling it...her? God he didn't know...to not stop til they hit home under any circumstances.

Fucking fate that seconds later her pretty face became white with shock as a large chain wrapped around her torso, sharp, clawing and crackling with chakra. It pulled her backwards like lightning, and she was gone.

And he was here.

"Don't stop til we hit Konoha, under any circumstances" she'd said, and the idiot insect complied, refusing to stop no matter how much he asked, begged or threatened. What kind of last words were they? Last words should mean something, be meaningful or emotional, not the tired flight commands of a woman desperately trying to get her friends, her team mates home alive...

No, she was alive. They couldn't be her last words. He knew Hayami, and even if she'd surprised him with her sudden moves, he'd never met anymore more patiently, irritatingly stubborn. She'd get through this, he had to believe it.

Because if she didn't, how could any of them be expected to?


	17. Chapter 17

Authors note

Apologies for the delay, we've been helping a friend move house :)

Thank you to Nevvy, Brieval, Mikomi121, ArjunaBali and Marissa for the reviews, and hello to our new subscribers! For something I thought would just be for me alone really, it amazes me that we're up to 144 subscribers now over the two sites.

I wanted to ask, how do you all want the story to end? Short and snappy, ending when she's free, or continuing on possibly through her own development? Let me know, as it'll greatly influence a big decision i'm making soon plot wise :)

* * *

It hurt

Before she'd exhausted her chakra reserves summoning their escape plan her face had hurt, and her arms and legs were bruised from fighting. She'd been so proud when she'd felt the soft fluff of the enormous carrier moth underneath her; getting everyone out, fighting her way through just as Gai had promised she'd be able to and couldn't wait to give him the play by play of every roundhouse kick; punch and throw she'd managed once as a group they'd realised they would need to fight their way out.

But now, now her face hurt, her arms and legs were bruised, her stomach felt like it'd been ripped in two...and her resolve was shattered. She'd worked so hard, given her entire all to the mission...only to fail. She knew her stomach was sticky with blood, not that she could press her hands against it, tightly bound as they were above her head

She wasn't even in the comfort of a private cell, gritty sandstone cutting into her tired, sore body. No, she was in the air. Her hands and feet were tightly bound, her mouth was gagged, a bag was over her head. It couldn't have been a more cliche kidnapping if they'd read the book on cliche kidnappings.

If she'd have gotten out with the others she'd be home what...four days late. Her friends would be worried but happy when she returned. When the group returned without her...She couldn't bear to think what the team would think...what Gai would think when they returned without her, with the report that she'd been pulled from the air, that they didn't know what had happened after that.

Which was that some form of unfathomably enormous chain, filled with chakra, electrocuted her until she passed out. That she could feel the burn on her torso where its small spikes had penetrated her skin; tearing through cloth; smell the acrid stench of her own burnt flesh. She had vague memories of once again being dragged, and then again, nothing until she woke up here.

She'd had this situation happen too often within the last week, for someone who prided herself on not getting caught. Well...not if Hikaru had anything to do with it, a theme that had continued into adulthood apparently. She'd always blended perfectly into the shadows on missions, unseen and unnoticed. As long as he was alive though, as long as the creature had done as it was told and got them out of this hellish situation, then her mission was still complete. She tried to take comfort in her success, knowing she was likely facing death in the coming hours.

She could feel herself beginning to drift out of consciousness and tried so hard to stay awake, focusing on the pain and numbness in her limbs from the restraints, the faint twitching from the electric current that had forced itself through her tired body during her capture, but to no avail. Her breathing slowed, and her head fell forwards as she was once again claimed by darkness.

* * *

No-one spoke as they approached Konoha, they hadn't spoken for much of the day long journey home, apart from to share the rations that had thankfully been decanted from Hayami's person as the creature had taken off into the sky.

Even now, she was still keeping them going.

Steely gazes followed tears, as each person dreaded the mission report that would follow, as they always did when someone was lost in the field of battle. They needed to report on the treason, see whether Frog was back, or possibly part of this, and inform the next of kin.

It wasn't often that the next of kin witnessed the event.

Hikaru just wanted to be home, to climb into the spare room he always occupied when he was back from missions, and not have to tell the others in their team; or the students she'd told him about in the confines of their cells, or the man she was hopelessly besotted with.

How could he tell them she'd potentially given her life to save theirs?

Or worse, that he knew deep down she'd not given it, but that he'd thrown it away through his own carelessness…

Rationally she couldn't have known what was coming.

Understandably, touching down outside of the hospital on their current mode of transportation caused a reasonable commotion in the town, and word travelled fast. He knew he wouldn't have long before people came to check in, and knew he wasn't ready for those conversations. He slid a hand around Rabbit's waist, Cat doing the same on the other side, and together they helped the injured woman into the hospital building. He was limping himself, and he knew he had multiple broken ribs, cuts and bruises, his ankle was badly sprained, but it felt important to help at least this one injured member of the team to the appropriate care, to do something worthwhile. Medi-nin's rushed towards them, but hung back at the looks of determination on her two caretakers faces. Together they got her into the pristine white room and onto the bed, before allowing themselves to be separated and taken for treatment.

Not that he deserved it

* * *

Their training for the past week had been...interesting.

At the beginning of the week, Gai had been in the most fantastic mood they'd seen. Tenten at first had found it hilarious, then adorable as it was obvious something had transpired between Gai and Hayami.

The way they arrived together, walking closely, but not too closely. Not closely enough to attract attention. Their gazes found each other regularly, but not enough to be noticeable to others. Their eyes when they didn't find each other when saying goodbye though, had so many unspoken promises. She sighed with happiness at their idyllic romance, then in frustration as Lee and Neji looked at her like she was insane when she spoke to them about it later on.

Men, they just didn't get it.

At the midway point he'd been fussy and anxious. Obviously distracted, and the boys began to get it now, Neji first with a small nod when she gestured to his continued sighs and nervous ticks during their sessions.

That had become excitement as they reached her expected return date, his house was tidied. They found him exiting her house one morning, explaining it only as "oh, I thought i'd ensure her home was to her liking for her return!"

Yeah right, she'd laughed later on with Hinata over boba, he was probably dropping rose petals around the place and installing matching bath robes. At this point, even Lee began to suspect something was amiss.

However, she'd go back to the strange lovey dovey behaviour in a heartbeat if it meant the anxious worrying would end. If it meant his dropping mood as the end date became further away would perk up again.

She...they all wanted Hayami to come walking through the bushes like always, laughing and apologising for being held up; dragging the cheeky looking redhead from the photographs around the house behind her to introduce them. They tried reassuring their sensei, telling him that with how cautious she was, it was likely she'd forced the group to wait before entering the compound. That she was probably hidden in a roof cavity somewhere laughing inwardly at the fact she hadn't been found yet. She probably wasn't even harmed.

When they heard the whispers about the moth, his mood immediately brightened but something...felt wrong to Tenten. They abandoned their run around the outskirts of town, heading towards the town gates, watching as their beloved sensei practically vibrated with excitement and relief. When the guards told them they'd seen it pass over towards the medical centre, they saw his shoulders tense. His pace stall, then speed up.

"I hope her brother isn't injured too badly" he babbled, dragging them for flowers "do you think he'd prefer tulips or hyacinth?" as if the flowers were definitely for Hikaru, and not the woman he so obviously loved, then towards the hospital.

She'd never seen him broken though, not before now. Nothing would stick in her mind more than watching the man who had uplifted them for so many years crumble as he was told there was no Hayami Ake here, that Hikaru Kumi was in room 12 if they wanted to visit him, but to 'please Gai, this once, be gentle' as the young was in mourning.

The word resonated with them all

Mourning.

She had seen Gai run, jump, speed and even skip at times, but this slow, tense walk was a first. They rounded the door of number 12 as a unit, her own hands shaking until it found its way into Gai's who simply stared forwards, tucking the flowers into the crook of his elbow and ruffling her hair before finally meeting her eyes. He had barely controlled tears threatening to leak down his face "it'll be fine Tenten, just you see"

But it wasn't fine.

The redhead in the bed wasn't the cheeky man in the photos with a bright smile and twinkling eyes, but a scared boy with dried tears and his knees pulled up to his chest. In the seat beside him was an older woman with dark skin and long grey hair, plaited to fall down one shoulder. Sat at the end of the bed was a man around the same age as Hikaru and Hayami, with a stern expression and an almost white blonde ponytail.

The room was silent, and the older woman stood, smoothing down invisible creases; an action they'd seen Hayami do a thousand times. "You must be Gai, Lee, Neji and of course, Tenten-Hayami wrote to me often about you all. I'm Inoki, Hayami's sensei. Jun, why don't you go get us some more chairs?"

Her voice was soft, gentle. Not what they'd expected from the famed deadly assassin. This was bad though, the team they'd become so familiar with from stories and photos being together with one missing piece. They were all silent, stood in the doorway-the blonde unable to pass them.

It was Lee that finally said what they were obviously all scared of. "She's not made it back, has she?"

* * *

She had no concept of time, held like this. Without light, her senses...well- it could have been days or hours. Her shoulders were strained, numb and her wrists...well it was either blood trickling down her arms or a side effect of the restraints.

There was someone in the room though, pacing-their footsteps heavy but not determined. She was thankful for something to focus on that wasn't her going through memorised lists of weapons, leaders names listed by age, recipes...anything to focus her mind.

The steps...likely male from the weight behind them, their length of stride...stopped their pacing and stormed towards her, and suddenly there was light. She fought against it as it burnt her eyes, her pupils having to rapidly dilate to cope with the shift in conditions.

He wrenched the gag from her mouth and dragged her head back by her hair, now fallen from it's braid and poured a canteen of water over her face. She hadn't realised how dehydrated she was until the water hit her chapped, dry lips and felt like a gift from the gods. She coughed at the onslaught as it filled her throat and it took all her energy to breathe slowly from her nose-to not allow the inevitable panic to take over her and cause her to breathe in any more of the water.

It bubbled from her mouth, rolling down her cheeks as tears automatically streamed down her face.

"Good morning"

Dog.

She'd never seen him without the mask, but as she gasped for breath she flicked her eyes up to his face and memorised as much as she could. Tall, surprisingly pale with dark brown eyes and hair; stylish stubble giving him a distinguished jawline.

His hand found her face, gentle for the briefest of seconds before he span his hand and struck her with it's back, hard.

"Speak when you're spoken to, bitch"

"Good morning" she replied, obediently

Her voice was steady, proudly so for someone who had been tied, gagged and almost drowned in god knows where for god knows how long.

Her pride was going to be her only companion in this, she needed it if she wanted to keep any shred of her sanity.

"Why am I here?" she asked.

He slapped her again, and she saw stars

"Did I give you permission to speak?"

Hayami held her tongue, trying to figure out his game. She was scared, understandably so. This man, Dog or whatever his real name was, was obviously unhinged.

"SPEAK" he shouted, raising his hand again and she quickly complied.

"I'm sorry, no, you didn't give me permission to speak"

He turned away, and she contemplated his actions. He obviously wanted power, if this archaic master and servant play was anything to go off; and she could at least keep herself safe easily by playing along, for now.

However when he spun towards her, knife in hand her heart stopped. Was she wrong? Was his insanity far more complex than she thought?

Her eyes widened and he paused, drinking in the sight of her fear, before gently stroking the tip of the blade down her cheek. He paused to admire the minute beads of blood gathering there before swiftly raising the blade up and cutting her from the ceiling.

Rationally, she wasn't too far off the floor. The drop however was still painful, arms moving into a different position and burning with the effort. He crouched next to her and lifted her face.

"Good, you're a fast learner. Hayami I've been watching you for some time, I know you're intelligent. Take in what i'm about to tell you; right into that pretty little head of yours. Escape, and I kill you. Hurt me, and I hurt you. Injure any of my staff, and i'll let them enjoy you too"

He turned away, leaving her lay on the floor. He paused in the large doorway. "Well? Thank me for my generosity, ungrateful bitch"

She stammered over the words, wishing it was purposeful and hating that it was entirely involuntary "th..thank you"

He nodded, and shot her a smile so genuine that it terrified her. "We leave at dawn, pet"


	18. Chapter 18

Authors note

I thought i'd update early today to make up for the repeated late chapters lately!

Thank you all for the responses to my question last chapter; I wanted to check as it's one of those things, i've read stories before that I wished were longer, and stories where I've felt they really should have ended before they did, that they'd been dragged out and away from their natural end point.

I've begun looking at the earlier chapters and tweaking them here and there, and I've edited the story bio as it's not as...fluffy as i'd previously imagined haha!

Genuinely though, especially as this is a story I really did start just because I wanted to write something and this was in my head, knowing that you guys want it to continue is the most mind boggling and amazing thing ever. Let me know if there';s stuff you wanna see in the story, i'll fit it in where I can :P

* * *

The door stayed open, but not for her escape. Masked people came in quickly, circling her prone form. She was ashamed of her instinct to cower, forcing herself to look at each in turn; hoping to find some defining features and failing.

They were not gentle as they pulled the ropes from her wrists and ankles, moving her like a ragdoll as they unbound her. It would have been the perfect opportunity to escape, but truthfully she was too weak to fight back. When she last ate she had no idea. They dragged her to her feet, laughing at her pathetic attempts to stand and take a defensive stance, moving to push the loose fisted hands aside and begin the process of stripping the ragged, filthy clothes from her half conscious form. Cloth was unceremoniously tugged from healing flesh, and she felt the telltale trickle of fresh blood leaking from scabbed wounds. Her wrists and ankles were cracked and bloody from the rough ropes, and as they scrubbed her with sun warmed water she had to make a conscious effort not to make a sound, not to hide her naked body from the strangers- her pride keeping her resolute. She stood, the perfect statuesque ninja, a deep glare marring her face, and allowed them to painfully scrub her tired body. The garments they threw into the corner, forgotten and abandoned; much as she herself felt. They left her unbound as they moved as a unit out of the small room, obviously aware she was in no fit state to make any attack or escape.

Looking down at her newly clothed body, at the unfamiliar linen tunic top and loose trousers, she contemplated her situation. She wasn't dead yet, which was a good sign. Her captor was obviously unhinged, which was a bad sign. She would formulate a plan, but if she attempted to flee now she'd be killed on the spot. She had no weapons, little chakra and no idea where she was. For now...she'd just have to play along.

For now, she settled, leaning back against the wall, torso still and confined by its new heavy bandaging; limiting her breathing. She would have to wait.

But she wasn't...she wasn't helpless. She slipped a hand under her bandages, wincing as they hit the damaged flesh. Her fingers returned, glistening with fresh blood, and she crawled towards the discarded clothing and towels used to 'freshen her up' the night before. She might be injured, she might be tired, and hungry, and feeling more than a little lost...but she would never be helpless.

* * *

When she finally drifted off, she wasn't sure, but she was startled awake from dreams of the last year, of a time she realised now she hadn't been quite thankful enough of until now; by the door opening- it's heavy metal body swinging into the small room. She scrambled backwards and attempted to crouch, but failed as thudding pain resonated through her torso and screamed down her legs.

The guards that had come into the room were silent as she crumpled, roughly grabbing her by the arms and dragging her to her feet, which failed slightly beneath her as they shoved her forwards. She caught herself against the rough wall, and held steady as her vision went, a bag violently fastened over her head and around her neck. Her hands were roughly bound behind her back, but not too tightly. She wished she had the information to confidently slip these bindings and run...his words swam through her head though, his threat if she attempted to run... She couldn't until she knew she'd get away.

She focused on not tripping as she was moved, blind. Hands pushed and prodded her, issuing gruff commands and pushing her around corners. Left, left, right, left. Why they bothered covering her face just to allow her to independently walk she had no idea. They certainly didn't seem to be moving her in circles, she appeared to be directly moving towards a single area.

Amateurs.

And then their orders became quieter, their movements...softer?

And they stopped.

"Bring her over"

She tensed. The same voice from the evening before; without a hint of doubt in it's tone. This man was obviously the leader of the group.

The hands that met her shoulders were smaller this time, likely a woman, and she was moved forwards gently, slowly; until she was close enough to smell him, a musky cinnamon scent.

"Show her to me"

The bag was removed, with great care. It was the polar opposite to how it was put on her-this man didn't want her harmed? He'd had her bathed and clothed yes, but her previous outfit was ruined and she had become more aware of her own scent; ripe and unwashed-and had assumed that was the reason.

"Good morning Hayami" he sneered

"...Good morning" she tentatively replied, hoping it was the right answer.

Apparently so, as his smile began to look more human. He stood, circling her like a predator.

"They did a wonderful job, i'm glad to see that being in our care has made such a positive impact on your appearance. You will always be clean, and dressed impeccably, as you are today whilst you are in my presence, do you understand?"

She could only nod, keeping the confusion and shock at his words from her face as he smiled; a smile that set her entire body on edge.

"I have your new residence organised" he gestured to a...cage to her side. "We are leaving this hovel today" He returned back to his previous place upon the sandstone chair. Did he expect her to be thankful for the cage?

"I hope that in time I can trust you enough to walk with the others when we travel, and perhaps even ride with myself, but for now, that is how we shall transport you. Until you prove to me that I can trust you" His finger stroked down her unmarked cheek, pausing lightly on her freckles.

She nodded, and he turned her, pushing her towards the wheeled cage. Around them a bustle of people were packing ornate chests, and it appeared the many guards they'd witnessed at the event weeks before seemed to be mostly his, alongside the staff.

Interesting. Why did he need so many staff? Was it always his event? If he traded in people, was that why he was keeping her alive?

To sell?

No, not with the talk of trust he was giving her.

She obeyed, crawling into the sparse container, glad that she'd made her living hiding in cramped conditions. Better alive and mildly uncomfortable than dead.

Though it would be infinitely better to not be here.

She watched the staff move, bustling like ants in a floor crack for the next hour or so, before her own container was attached to one of the many horses being led into the cavernous room. It moved off with a judder, and she regretted the lack of padding over the next day as she was dragged through the scorching Suna desert, bumping over every rock and patch of uneven ground they could find, or so it felt.

Every few hours a small cup of water was passed through the bars, normally prompted by a distant shout of "Keep her alive!" from a gruff, unknown voice, and she gulped it down with greedy abandon.

It was cool nightfall by the time they apparently reached their destination, and she was left in her confines for the night, passed a bowl of rice and forced to try and sleep curled up in a ball. The cool night air of the desert bit at her through the flimsy material as she watched the others retreat into the large tents they'd constructed in the moonlight with obviously practiced ease.

How long had they been travelling the desert? Who was Dog, and had he ever been a loyal anbu? At this point it was likely he'd been a mole for god knows how long...

* * *

The group of ninja were obviously nervous; equally concerned that they'd find either nothing at all at the site she was taken, or far too much.

They first found the oasis the group had camped at, with her pack still tucked behind some rocks, albeit a little more sand covered than before.

She'd either escaped and not made it this far, or not escaped at all.

They moved on, Inoki leading them towards the ruin, cat in toe. The loud blonde had insisted on coming, refusing point blank to be left behind in town.

Gai could see how stoic his students were being, searching the area professionally; and was so proud. He jogged up, and slung his arm around Neji and Lee's shoulders. "Don't worry! We'll find her! If you're worrying, talk to me-teams are only as strong as their trust in one another!"

Neji cracked a smile as the strange man shot them a winning smile and ran off towards Tenten. His sensei wasn't a man interested in raising stoic ninja; and for once, Neji really didn't mind.

They crouched behind a rock face, observing the monolithic ruins.

"Whoever ran this operation must have had a large force behind them" Inoki commented, falling back onto her haunches and sliding the small telescope back into her side pocket.

"It was rammed" cat replied "toffs and guards and backstabbing dogs"

Kakashi was more contemplative, aiming his query towards the older woman. "why do you say that?"

"We always gave this place a wide berth" Inoki replied "full of bandits; and not the kind to suddenly hold swanky parties where they dabble in the trade of humans. Whoever cleared this camp had men, lots of them"

The group nodded, moving in rapidly towards the building, pausing at the side wall that they'd jumped from only a week prior. Hikaru and Cat insisted they were fine to travel, fine to fight; and the group counted on their perseverance and honesty; knowing they'd be unable to slow down or leave them behind should the worst happen. Hikaru paused, pressing a hand against the rough wall and smoothing his hair back before stepping backwards and running up the wall; thankful this time to not be carrying an injured woman.

* * *

They'd moved quickly once they left their second set of hiding closets, the heightened traffic of enemies spurring them into desperate speed. Hikaru crouched, and with Cat at Rabbits arms and Hayami at her rear; they'd worked together to manhandle her onto the redheads back. Rabbit clasped her hands together til her knuckles lost all colour, and gritted her teeth as he sped up the ladder, following the smaller cat who darted up first to check they were clear to move.

Rabbit went to drop from Hikaru's back, but both he and Hayami shook their heads "we need to move quickly, stay there"

"But"

Hayami looked the taller woman in the eye knowing she had to be harsh. "If you slow us down we die; stay there and let us get you to safety"

And so they ran, knowing that with the sheer amount of enemies around them that speed was their ally here. Footsteps behind them only spurred them onwards, across the ground, pain being pushed back by adrenalyn as they forced themselves into a sprint.

They were in the open sand now, and faltered as a gaggle of men stood before them, startled by the swiftly moving group of prisoners who didn't appear to be slowing as they raced towards them.

Hikaru swiftly went to drop the woman on his back, but was stopped by Hayami, who careered past him, shouting "i've got this, keep Tohru safe!". Hayami and Cat rushed forwards, engaging the enemy as Hikaru hung backwards, slowed by exhaustion and extra weight, briefly glad to take a step back. He was amazed as the small woman he'd grown up with took the lead, spinning with fierce kicks and punches that he never would have imagined from her. Stealing a weapon from one of the enemies she slashed, and he couldn't imagine what she was now capable of if she were strong as she could be.

Hikaru forced the last of his chakra into his feet and sped forwards, ignoring the cracking of the final wall as he took his chance at the gap in the group. The others followed, and he worried as his longtime friend wheezed, trembling as she dropped to the ground and summoned an incredibly familiar creature. Cat grabbed her by the arm and dragged her forwards, faltering before deciding to just jump onto the creature, trying to figure out what you could stand on when faced with such a large insect.

* * *

They moved back through the familiar avenues, down into the belly of the ruin. Their movements slowed as they realised just how alone they were, and Pakkun ran ahead, nose firmly to the ground as they moved. He surprised them by not moving into the area where they'd been held, and Hikaru paused, catching Gai's arm as he went to move further downwards into the area where they'd been held. "No, you don't need to see that". He knew the stifling stink of the place, of confinement and the removal of dignity and cleanliness that it contained. The older man didn't need to see the abandoned outer clothes, the stench of the place or the blooded water in the corner of her cell.

They followed the small dog forwards, finding themselves in a small, circular room. This was where she'd been held. A large metal ring hung from the ceiling, from which hung rough rope, the other half of which was abandoned on the floor beneath. Droplets of blood pooled against the side of the room, pattern spilling across the room and into a pile of rubbish on the opposite edge.

"The smell's strongest over there" the gruff dog lazily responded, lying by the door.

The group moved forwards, noses crinkling at the musty stench coming from the soiled fabric as they dragged the pile apart; desperately hoping they weren't about to find their friend beneath. What they found however, Gai immediately recognised as the outfit she'd left in-horrifyingly cut up, dirty and bloodied. On the ground beneath was a hastily scrawled message.

"Alive. Injured. Taken. Help"

Jun chuckled with obvious relief, turning to Hikaru and smiling. "Only Ami would capitalise a help message written in her own blood"

"Well" Neji started, crouched before the message, relieved beyond measure that she was alive; as they all were. "There's our answer"


	19. Chapter 19

A month.

A month since the afternoon they'd discovered she was missing, a month since that frantically chosen bouquet of flowers hit the clinical white tiles, rapidly followed by green clad knees as Maito Gai's world crashed down around him.

A month since they found out she was alive.

It was two weeks of focusing on normality before he let himself in through the window, as he'd gotten used to doing, and stared at the contents of the room. Of the bags, lined in size order; her books, alphabetized and perfectly in line. His own room was always thrown together, an enthusiastic mash of clothing thrown on and thrown off as he ran around the house rapidly preparing for the day, throwing himself into training, into bed, into anything the day could present to him. It was nice though, to relish in small moments of peace, to simply take the time he had avoided but knew he needed to...accept his current situation. He moved towards the dressing table, moving a callused finger over the perfectly placed bottles and accessories. It felt so wrong to be here, invading her space, though he knew rationally that he used to nip in here at least twice a week, if nothing else but to see her sleeping face, curled up and relaxed, smiling as she softly breathed. For a man with so much control, he was ashamed of the way he let himself act around Hayami; in a way no manner of self inflicted punishment could counteract.

The room smelt faintly of her, of ylang ylang and mint shampoo. He'd been in denial for so long that it was more painful knowing he might never kiss her again, never hold her again after finally being able to. He wouldn't get to anticipate their life together, knocking the wall through til their separate homes was a singular house, never see her balance floorplans on a heavily pregnant stomach as she attempted to micromanage everything around her. Never simply taste her for the first time as he'd never let himself imagine until all of a sudden he could.

He continued with his normal life, going through the motions; allowing his magnificent students to cheer him with their hard work and dedication; though to outsiders it was obvious all four were equally struggling, holding it together for the others.

A messenger had come the morning before, clearing their mission as soon as Inoki would be able to lead them. He requested the best shinobi he knew as his support; Kakashi Hatake, and his own team prepared for a long bout of tracking.

* * *

The two men sat in the sun now, a large map spread between them, waiting for both his new neighbours and his team to join. She'd been captured in a set of ruins within the vast desert of Suna, that much he knew. She was alive when they left, that much she'd given them. Once the other three arrived they could suggest local points of interest that would be worth investigating for any signs of movement if they didn't...if they didn't locate her body first.

Kakashi hummed, nodding. It was a sound plan, and as his students wandered in alongside Inoki, Jun and Hikaru he gave a gentle wave before returning his gaze to the man opposite.

"She's made a real impact on you you know"

Gais voice was mellow "I know"

"What's this?"Jun asked, putting a glass of iced tea in front of both men.

Kakashi scoffed "this man" he gestured to Gai "would run face first into a volcano a couple of months ago, and fight his way out. Now you're making concise plans, you've thought it through more than 5 minutes before the mission begins"

"Not completely though" Hikaru smiled, interjecting and pointing at the map "you've only got one colour of stickers on there; she'd have one for each team, then an overlay for the backup plan"

The group laughed, sitting down and marking useful locations of ruins and oasis spots on the desert maps. The amount of collective environment knowledge in the trio was amazing; and Gai and the team loved that a lot of the locations came with a collective story. He'd known the woman for almost a year in an increasingly close capacity; but these three, they'd known her for almost half her life.

"Boys, do you remember this ruin?" inoki began, tapping at a part of the map which Hayami had at some point added the careful outline of the site.

Hikaru begged "Oh please sensei, no", but Jun was quick to counter "oh please sensei, yes"

The older woman chuckled, sipping her tea "We were camped out, it looked like we were going to be treated to the infinite pleasure of one of sunas sandstorms; and it's better to get safe early than late"

The group nodded along.

"We'd eaten, settled in for the night and enjoyed the bliss of not needing to keep watch, hidden as we were. So the storm starts coming in, waking us up. But Hikaru, he's gone. As you can imagine, Hayami saw red and was shouting that once she found him, she'd kill him"

Jun interrupted "At this point, we couldn't tell if he was hiding from her or genuinely gone"

"I can't imagine Hayami-sensei angry!" Lee exclaimed, moving to sit cross legged on the grass next to the older woman

"You weren't around her in her teenage years" Hikaru muttered, comically mock shivering before gesturing begrudgingly for his mentor to continue

"We move to the door, and confusingly, see Hikaru's trousers. Then a sock, then his top. Then an undertop. We're trailing him, collecting the various items of his clothing as we go. We had to bring him in for his own safety before the storm hit"

"Mind you, we could also hear him" Jun added, before being interrupted by Hikaru

"And there he was! Fully clothed in a new and exciting outfit. The end" Hikaru finished, muffled by his own hands as they covered his face. The tips of his ears were the same colour as his fiery hair as he hid.

"Actually" Jun continued, splashing tea into the other man's face "He was completely naked, the light of the moon shining handsomely off his buttocks as he stood on a rock. Screaming"

"I was asleep!"

"You were fantastic. Had to practically scrape Ami off the floor she was laughing so hard. I was the one that had to grab your naked body, throw it over my shoulder and run Hikaru, run, towards our shelter as the storm came in"

Hikaru flopped back against the grass, rolling onto his front and burying his face in the green strands "i've apologised"

"And i've reminded you that when people run, things bounce. Things one teammate should never have to experience about another teammate"

"It wasn't exactly a fun way to wake up!"

"Boys, boys, enough" Inoki laughed, wiping a tear from her own wizened eyes at the boys childish bickering. It didn't matter how old they got, they were still their ten year old selves, trying to push each other into streams. "We need to focus on the retrieval mission"

"No, please" Gai began, smiling the most honestly and fully that he had in some time "I want to hear more about your times together"

The boys looks of sadness at being reminded why they were there quickly shifted into mischievous smiles. "Do you want to hear about the 'pet' she picked up that turned out to be a dirty old man" Hikaru started "or the time Hikaru here began 'mastering' his fire techniques and burned off Hayami's hair and she was practically bald for a month?"

* * *

"Come here"

Hayami limped over, eyes downcast.

"Look at me"

She did, her own dark eyes meeting his and holding his peculiarly warm gaze. After their initial meeting in this experience she'd settled on this pattern of behaviour for her own prosperity and for the moment it seemed to be working. Her injuries in the past month had been minor, considering the fact he easily could have killed her by now. A punch here, a slap there. A kick from the staff members that escorted her continuously between locations; a shove whilst she was vulnerable. The ankle was recent, a product of her taking too long to respond and being kicked down the few small steps leading up to where he liked to sit. It would ease in a day or two. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't lightly playing it up, trying to ensure he saw her as small, weak.

His hands reached for her, and she focused her attention on his brow as his fingers toyed with her outfit; straightening the straps on the knee length white linen dress, moving her hair behind her shoulder, and finally, straightening her neck wear.

She'd been forced into it after the degrading washing and dressing incident; which felt so, so long ago now. A wide leather collar, lined with uncomfortable bumps that halted her chakra points-similar in effect to the Hyuugas gentle palm technique.

Just another point to have to counteract in her escape plan.

And she would escape.

Hayami Ake was many things, prideful, uncertain, internal...but never an idiot when it came to keeping herself alive. She would play along, gain his trust, do whatever was necessary to keep herself alive.

He gestured, and she slid to the floor next to his feet, as she had yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. The same clinking of chains was heard as he fastened her neck covering to the chair that took up the centre of the large tent; raised as it always was on its small platform. She had yet to figure out his plan, his intention for her presence. At the moment she just seemed to serve as decoration, as he met with various people that gave information, negotiated weapon deals, traded in people and men for missions.

The infiltrator in her couldn't believe her luck. Through a law of averages someone she recognised had to come through these doors and in the meantime she would absorb everything she heard, memorising all the faces. Learning, always learning.

* * *

She'd been moved out of the cage after the third week, and into her own room; though she remained continually surrounded. Her guards had originally changed regularly, but recently, another complete kick in the teeth; it was Frog that she had to look upon every day.

Frog, also now without an Anbu mask; not that he deserved it. It hurt, having to look daily into the face of one of her betrayers, reminded constantly of her own failure. She knew the young man before her wasn't someone she could trust, and hated that her usual instincts had betrayed her on two counts; both Frog and Dog. She glared up at him from her position, sat on the floor of the tent spooning the overcooked rice and slightly dry meat into her mouth.

"Will you please stop glaring at me?"

She did not.

"Seriously" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air, much to the apparent mirth of his companion. "You've not even spoken to any of us except Satoru! You've been here a month, and not a word-you weren't the most chatty kunoichi but this is ridiculous!"

Hmm...now that was new information.

"Your leader is called Satoru?"

The companion turned, "Yes, he is, and why he's bothering you you I don't know-same to you Takayuki-just ignore her; the boss'll get bored of her lazing around the place soon looking all doll-like and'll kick her out on her ass". Each of his points was emphasised with a jabbing point towards Frog; who paused for a moment before laughing, his entire stance relaxing. "I know Grit, I know"

These two would be interesting, Hayami decided, as much as she hated to have to be in his presence. She looked away from the two, unable to focus on them any more, instead giving her sole, undivided attention on the hemline of today's top, which again, was white, and fastened with a thick band around her neck, flowing down from there. The stitching was tight, and she had to admire the light embroidery on the hem. Someone had to be creating these, she'd seen naught else in anything like them, and they could be the perfect person to pass messages between...if they could stitch messages into the hems of her clothes in the same white thread…could they be left as clues for her team? Would anyone notice strips of cloth left behind in the desert?.

Something to consider.

But steps drew all three sets of ears, and a runner appeared; young and in oversized clothing.

"Sirs, the master wants her"

Grit poked his head back into the room and whistled. "Come on girly, you're summoned"


	20. Chapter 20

Author's note- i'm so sorry for the delay on this, I'm aware it's a week late. It was my birthday yesterday so we've had friends staying with us for the weekend so we were unfortunately prepping and rushing around most of last week getting stuff for the party and their stay. I work 9-5 so that doesn't leave much time for writing unfortunately when life things happen!

Speaking of life things, I go on holiday on Sunday to Budapest so there won't be a chapter next Tuesday, but i'll work on a fluffy one shot to make up for it, I promise

* * *

"Do you want to know why you're here my flower?" Dog, no, Satoru, she reminded herself; asked.

"Yes sir". The act of being docile, of looking down and being meek, came naturally now-like wearing a second skin; albeit a skin that made her crawl with discomfort.

"I imagine you do…" he wandered, passing the chair and moving into the space behind her, towards a table with an array of papers and weaponry. How confident he had to be to leave such items just lying around.

Rifling through the papers, he made her wait, and the collar itched as her chakra bubbled in irritation. Without a way to disperse her chakra, it had built up in the weeks leading up to this, til it writhed and moved within her, desperately wanting to leave.

He turned, waving a stack of papers and catching her attention once more. "Did you know, Hayami, why your family turned you away?"

Her thoughts stilled, an icy cold feeling of stillness washing over her. This was...not where she was expecting this conversation to go.

Her silence, coupled with wide eyes, were all the answer he needed.

"Your uncle, the one who refused to take you in when your parents died, worked closely with my father, who started this little...enterprise" he began, gesturing at the opulent tent they were sat in. "Of course, your parents had no part in it, idealistic idiots, but they were considered the black sheep of the family, or so I was told. When they died, your family turned you away because you were weak. But you're not weak, are you Hayami?"

"No sir"

"No, you're just...untrained"

She mentally scoffed, she was incredibly well trained, thank you very much...

He handed her the stack of papers, and she flicked through them, unable to stop the genuine confusion showing on her face. They were records, of her family tree, notes regarding power levels, and finally, diagrams explaining her clan's… "This can't be"

"Ahh but it can. After your uncle's death I realised both that I needed a new Ake to really ensure we prosper; and that we're practically related, you and I. I did what any caring relative would do, and decided to take you under my wing! Your uncle said you were unable to use the power, weaker than your parents and significantly weaker than him or his wife. But I believe that he was wrong, and if i'm wrong...well then we're not really blood at all are we" he said, ghosting a finger down the blade slung at his hip so flippantly she had no doubts regarding his sincerity. Or his insanity.

She'd always wondered why she was left alone after the loss of her parents; why her father's family didn't love her enough to take her in. She'd never considered, never for a second that THIS was the reason why. Her parents had been excellent ninja, yes, but they'd never lived in a compound-just a normal house. She'd had relatives, but they weren't a clan; not like the other families with bloodline abilities. If this were true, and she had a bloodline ability that she'd not known about it, had never...never been told, never been tested, never been shown-well she had to learn it. But first, she'd need to make sure she wasn't rescued til the right moment. Til she'd learnt how to access these abilities. And like a true epiphany, a plan bloomed in her mind. Hayami nodded, smiling inwardly.

"Please, teach me"

Satoru smirked, the looks she'd once reluctantly admitted were attractive appearing only as slimy and selfish.

"We have a problem though"

"And what, Hayami, is our problem?" he asked, obviously humoring her

"I...have friends, back in Konoha. Very single minded friends"

"I promise you i'm not bad enough at this that i'm not aware of my targets friends and family-or bad enough to leave a trail" he scoffed, "Do you think i'm bad at what I do?"

She swallowed, knowing that she had stepped out of bounds, but also that she would need to do so to gain his trust.

"No sir, but I also don't want us to be ambushed by proactive, dedicated ninja"

"I had never imagined you'd be so quick to turn to the cause. I thought i'd at least have to do some demonstrative whipping first!" His laugh was bellowing, and Hayami quickly cowered from his gaze, rubbing her right upper arm with her left hand, making herself look vulnerable. The longer she was here the more his actions appeared pantomime, with a steady undercurrent of pure insanity. Hopefully if she looked small whatever twisted family instinct this man possessed would stop any major damage...

"My family didn't believe in me, I want to be able to find them through learning this" she forced a tear into her eye. "I've always known I had to have...real family out there"

He strode towards her with purpose, resting his palm against her cheek and looking down at her with warmth. She forced herself to look doe eyed, to not recoil from his touch, and with a satisfied inner smirk saw the expression change in Frog from behind Dog's right shoulder. He looked hurt by his masters affection towards her, and Hayami quickly stored the information for later.

"Your training will begin when we reach our next location. Until then, how do you suppose we ensure you aren't followed? Shall I kill a maid and pose her as you?"

She blanched as he made a gesture, and one of the two women that supervised her care each morning was brought into the room. "If you refused I was going to have Tamiko here whipped until you agreed, but shall I kill her and use her body to let them mourn?"

"You would kill this woman and leave her in my place?"

"Shall I demonstrate?"

Hayami shook her head, rapidly. "No, please no, leave the girl. All I would need to do is leave a message telling them not to follow. Inoki has done it before when she wanted us to drop her trail and we swore an oath to always follow it, to trust that our comrades instincts are true"

Satoru clapped "what loyalty! I will watch this being written, of course, and if you show any signs of rebelling during our training know that I will destroy Tamiko. I'll start with her mind, and then her body"

Hayami nodded. She knew they'd likely have to physically drag Gai back to Konoha but they'd given their word whilst training together that when they were deep undercover, they'd trust each others word to not come looking.

As she walked back to her quarters her heart panged, knowing rescue wouldn't be coming once she did this. She knew though, that she needed to learn this knowledge.

For the first time since being taken, Hayami Ake really, truly, felt alone.

* * *

Her eyes flickered open as the sound of small feet rapidly moving across her room reached her ears, and she rolled, springing to her feet and holding her fists in front of her.

A squeak from the intruder "I mean you no harm!"

"Tamiko, why are you sneaking in here in the middle of the night?" she asked, exasperated, but also curious. She didn't drop her stance, needing the woman to know she wouldn't be an easy target. The young woman, probably no older than Tenten, would be here legitimately within a couple of hours, so why wake her up now?

Why convince the guard, an older, stern woman, to let her in?

"I...wanted to thank you. Away from prying ears"

Hayami looked around her to the shaft of light coming through the tent flap door, where the edge of the mercenaries legs were silhouetted. "Natsuka's alright, aren't you Nat?"

A hand appeared, the thumb flicking upwards quickly, and Hayami stifled a laugh at how much the gesture reminded her of Gai.

"You earnt a lot of respect today, many would have just allowed me to be killed to keep themselves alive and safe-you risked a lot. Are you really loyal to the master?"

A simple, if obvious trap, though the girl seemed sincere.

"Of course I am, I value the opportunity to learn from him"

The girl laughed, winking. "Of course you are, we all are! Who else are we going to be loyal to, trapped in the middle of the desert! Talk to Takayuki, he's better than he seems, just a little...foolhardy"

Hayami couldn't tell if this woman was possibly the worst spy she'd ever seen, or the best. She was cheerful, with the kind of enthusiastic personality that made her feel protective. But she was still a threat, and as she waved goodbye to the young woman and lay back down against the cold stone, she reminded herself that only idiots fell for cute faces and smiling words in times like this.

Idiots like Jun, she remembered, chuckling lightly to herself at the memory of him being absolutely fleeced by a beautiful thief from the land of rain after he'd simply followed her home at her request. He hadn't seen the soaked rag coming and woke up a coin purse lighter for his stupidity.

* * *

"I hate the desert"

"What?"

Tenten laughed at the huffy look on Kiba's face, his whiny tone. "I hate the desert, i've decided"

The large dog barked between them

"See, even Akamaru thinks so!"

She rolled her eyes at the antics of the two, but had to admit, the amount of time they'd spent travelling to and fro recently had worn them all a bit thin. At least this time they had something in mind, a true tracker alongside in the form of Kiba and Akamaru; and their antics brought a breath of fresh air to the group. Kakashi had long since had to go on another mission, and she knew they were lucky to get the pair-unsure what favour lee pulled to arrange it. The dogs were invaluable, and every time Akamaru ran forwards, hope darted through both her own team and Hayami's old team, knowing some clue would appear, even if it often was a half buried packed away camp site with only old fire pit rings to signify their presence.

She caught her breath as they stopped running, passing canteens of water between the group. Gai lavished the large white dog with treats, immediately enamoring himself to Kiba, who in turn only worked harder to locate the obvious missing family member to both groups. He couldn't imagine if Hinata, sister to him as she was, going missing...he'd be out of his mind with worry

* * *

Hayami's morning was business as usual, with both Tamiko and her coworker acting just as usual towards her-as if the night before had never happened. She expected small looks, but instead only got sweet conversation about desert blooms picked that morning that would become perfume, and a single private smile between herself and her nighttime visitor.

For the first time since arriving it was not a stupidly impractical and feminine outfit she was given, but a practical loose jumpsuit in a sturdy cotton that gathered in at the waist and a standard pair of ninja boots. Her feet sung at being in the familiar confines, instead of being wrapped in silk as they had been the last month or so.

She was, albeit under heavy supervision, given the task of packing and helping the others, relishing in the burn in her now underused muscles as she hauled ropes and tarp, jogging alongside her new entourage, purposefully ignoring the clink of heavy chain attaching her neck to Takayuki's wrist. He and his colleague from outside of her door followed her around the site, causing no end of strange looks from the seemingly endless supply of people swarming their camp, stuffing material into marked boxes and pulling huge pegs from the ground with practiced ease.

The sounds, the heat, the smell of sweat in the air and buzz of an effective hive of well organised people...well this she enjoyed; reminding her of growing up, often settling in for the night with nomadic travelling towns or just them in the forest, going through the motions of pitching and packing their respective tents. She shoved her sleeves up towards her elbows and jogged forwards, picking up the end of a large beam and grinning at the boy on the other end, who blanched slightly at the sight of her before swallowing and nodding a greeting.

These were just normal people, men and women and children that probably didn't know, or chose not to notice anything nefarious about their leader, the lives they lead so far detached from the dealings and behaviour demonstrated within that main tent. It was important to remind herself of that, to remember that she was probably not as surrounded by monsters as she otherwise automatically believed.

* * *

"What is it?" Lee asked the group, all of whom were staring up at the rock Akamaru had brought them to.

"Blood" answered Neji, moving forwards to pragmatically poke at the dried blood on the wall before turning and joining his team at looking to the elder ninja of the group for guidance.

"I'm so sorry Gai, but we have to go now" Jun finally said, after painstakingly copying the vague shape into his notebook

"What?" the older man exclaimed, cheeks flushed with anger and eyes wide, gesturing to the rockface rapidly "but we have a lead, if...if it's her blood then we're close, we can find her and bring her home safely"

"No Gai" Hikaru motioned forwards, resting a hand on Gai's shoulder. "Hayami wrote this, she's asked us to drop the trail, to let her come home when she's ready"

They turned again to the circle, jutted with four lines, one of which was itself, circled. "She's requesting isolation, working on something I guess…"

They stared incredulously as the two men put their packs back on.

"We can't just leave!" tenten screamed, sliding back til her back was against the wall.

"You don't understand Tenten, we have to" Jun answered, smiling at her sadly and passing her the pack she'd discarded when they arrived.

They set out, pausing and turning when they realised Gai wasn't immediately behind them, giving him some time and privacy.

"There's no way she could have been forced to write that?" Neji queried, staring Hikaru uncomfortably in the face

"None" Hikaru lied, trying not to think about the possibility. He'd have to trust in her, that whatever mess she was in, she could get herself out of now...


	21. Chapter 21

Morning! Thought i'd post a couple of days early to make up for the lack of Tuesday post this week. My holiday was fantastic, and I got both this and next week's chapters mostly written, then quite a bit done of the following three! I'm glad people enjoyed the one shot I posted; though soon we'll have some nice Gai and Hayami times on the horizon. Stay tuned :)

* * *

Her lungs burned as she forced air in and out; her breath catching in her throat. She felt like she'd just joined the academy, learning to run with the group and utterly and completely failing. As an adult, she loved to run. As an adult without the natural enhancement her chakra provided...well running was once again a completely hated chore.

Her tutors had always said though, that running was the best way to promote healthy chakra circulation; and god knew that's what she needed. Her mind continuously drifted to the long conversations she used to have with Neji about his abilities; where he would reject her requests to experience his palm abilities. He would always argue that the knowledge wasn't worth the danger of having her chakra blocked...feeling as she did now, she knew he was right.

Over the recent weeks she had begun her "training", and with it came the realisation that her body was betraying her. She'd known it in an abstract sense for some time, the nausea, the weight loss, how easily she bruised, the halting of her cycle and the dark circles under her almond eyes. But when the burn she'd relished when helping pack up camp hadn't eased off in her aching muscles, and here, running with her constant guards, she felt it most.

She wasn't just a prisoner in the camp, but also within her own body.

She tripped, falling to her knees with choking coughs; caused both by the sand she inhaled and the tug of the chain that remained continuously fastened to her slender neck. The guard running with the other end of the chain, an older man with long brown hair and an impressive beard, crouched next to her with warm, worried eyes. He always had warm eyes, she'd noticed-no matter who he spoke to.

His voice was gruff though as he spoke quickly "up you get kid"

Kid. He always called her kid when they were alone; though she supposed in his eyes she must appear as one, weak as she was.

She nodded, letting him pull her upwards. Her hands quickly rested on her knees as she panted and they set off once more.

By the end she was drenched in sweat, and the gruff voiced guard laughed, handing her his canteen; which she greedily gulped.

"I used to love running" she remarked, letting herself fall to the floor; glad the chain was just long enough that she wouldn't choke whilst this close.

The guard raised an eyebrow. The prisoner hadn't really spoken to him before, just struggled through their exercise and left, then ignored him whilst she read in their afternoon guard rotation. Her voice was surprisingly womanly, not as light and girlish as he'd been expecting.

She interrupted his train of thought "I wanted you to know. I've not always been this shit. Used to run everyday-quick as anything"

He understood now, and slid to a seat beside her, enjoying the shade given by the large, jutting rock to the side of them. Her pride was wounded, an old goat like him out-running a slip of a thing like her.

"What were you? Outside of here I mean?" he finally asked, knowing as the words left his mouth that he could get in a lot of trouble for talking to her but not particularly caring as the stoic young woman opened up to him for the first time.

"You don't already know?"

He shook his head. He imagined she was some sort of academic, with all the reading and research the master had her doing.

"I was a ninja"

He spluttered out the mouthful of water and she laughed. He was utterly mesmerized as her face completely transformed with her mirth at his reaction.

"I know...I've gone to shit"

Realisation dawned on him, memories of young slaves coming in freshly bought, and out, freshly sold. "The collar" he muttered, eyes falling to the chain in his hands. Only those who could access their chakra came in bound as she was, amd thy were always weak as kittens until it was removed.

"Bingo"

He'd only been a child when he'd arrived, so long ago and so well treated here by the guard squadron he barely remembered how it felt...but he'd never had chakra; never been taken against his will, at least as far as he knew. "I'm sorry" was all he could say as they stood and headed back into the main camp. She wasn't being treated well, that much was obvious, now that he was properly looking at her. Now that she was a person, and not just an assignment.

Daisuki groaned. He'd just made his own life a whole lot harder.

* * *

The moon was barely visible as Daisuki escorted Hayami back to her tent, the camp reasonably quiet. She'd been in villages before that were bustling after dark, with lights and sounds and fun. Her brain flitted to the sticks of fried meat she always used to get with Jun and Hikaru; juicy and dripping with sauce.

This was not one of those villages. There were occasionally raucous evenings but for the most part they were still, like tonight.

So Hayami noticed the movement to her right as they passed through the centre of the makeshift village; and paused, wishing she could move just a small amount of chakra to her eyes in order to see further.

It was Takayuki, moving slowly into the masters tent. The strong lights within cut into the darkness, and for just a moment she could see the nervous smile on the young mans face, the way his armour had been switched for a simple, but finely made Yukata.

Daisuki pulled her slightly, the chain slack as he opted for her arm, unlike the usual guards who would almost drag her by the thick chain.

"I wouldn't linger your gaze on that, Kid"

"He's dressed awfully nice to-"

"Cast it from your mind Hayami"

They walked on, and Hayami filed it away for later, alongside all the information she'd gathered on this place.

* * *

Hayami was pliant as Fumi, the new second to Tamiko, brushed the dirt and grime from her now wet hair.

"I think we should cut it"

Tamiko looked up from where she was laying out an outfit on the makeshift bed; her voice edged with caution, elongating the word that came as her response. "why?"

"It's too long! It would look better at her shoulders"

"But then we couldn't style it as much"

"But it would be much more fashionable"

"Oh yeah? Are bobs and collars really in fashion at the moment out in the real world?"

Her voice was sharp, and the other woman's intake of breath was the only sound in the small room. Hayami sighed "Tamiko you're out of line". She was worried, the younger woman had been nothing but anger recently, quickling firing up into uncharacteristic tempers.

"But!"

Hayami looked at her friend, trying not to smile at the pouting look on her face and certain she herself was making an incredibly weird face in the process.

The brunette seemed to deflate, like a porcupine settling back down after it's attack. "You're right, I'm sorry Fumi"

They fell silent again, and Hayami could feel Fumi twisting her hair under, rolling it until it was short around her chin, instead of long down her back.

"Tamiko"

Her friend turned, and smiled. "That does look pretty actually". Hayami had to laugh, as the older of the two young girls appraised her as one would an antique chair or painting. She had to intervene though as their discussion grew more serious.

"I draw a line. No hair cutting"

The two women awwd, asking why; and she smiled

"promise you won't laugh?"

The two nodded

"And that this won't leave this tent?"

Their eyes gleamed

"I've always found long hair beautiful, and I was planning on tying it up nicely for the winter festival back home..." She knew it was ridiculous, the idea that she'd ever make it back to that, to him, but imagining the small events, birthdays, festivals, kissing him under the fireworks...they kept her grounded, kept her sane.

Tamiko squealed, giggling maniacally. "I didn't know you had someone back home!"

Hayami interrupted, blushing and stuttering. "I never said it was for a date!"

"...but we suspected, you'd been saying a man's name in your sleep"

"Shut up Fumi! What's he called?"

"We know what he's…"

"Shut up Fumi!"

Hayami laughed at the antics of the two, wishing she'd had a female friend at that age and desperately missing Shizune and Kurenai. She loved her boys, but there was something lovely about being around other women. They reminded her of the way Lee and Tenten would bicker, and her heart panged. It felt often like that's all it did these days.

"He's called Gai" Hayami answered, knowing somehow in her gut that Tamiko could be trusted; but also safe in the knowledge Gai could survive past anything if one of these two was a mole. She was also highly aware that their leader couldn't resist telling her if he had sent men after Gai; and she'd have another knife in her belt, the truth that someone was feeding him information.

"How long have you been together?"

"Well, I don't even know if we even are...I confessed to him the day before I left for the mission that, well... resulted in me being here"

Fumi finally spoke again, having gone silent at Tamiko's chastising. "That's so sad…you'll likely never see him again".

Tamiko turned slowly towards the younger woman, with enough rage in her eyes and tightened lips to terrify the sannin themselves, but Hayami didn't notice, too absorbed in her own truths.

"No" Hayami answered, staring at the porridge now forgotten at her side "I probably wont"

* * *

She had expected training to be with the unsettling leader of her new residence, not with the young man who had helped betray her and land her here in the first place. Weeks later and she was used to his presence, but he still refused to talk directly to her with anything not an order; and she noticed he never relaxed-the perfect soldier. He stood in one corner now, mirroring the three other large men, the four simply surrounding her as she read the wealth of material left by her aunt and uncle. He was individual though, in that of the four he was the only one sporting a hefty black eye. She wondered whether it was related to his activities the previous evening, or entirely unrelated…

The notes she worked on were...interesting. She could only assume the pair had either stolen or inherited the clan information from the sheer amount kept in Satoru's possession and the complete lack of it she remembered seeing whilst her parents were still alive.

All of it, of course, indicated she should have naturally been using her power since she was a child. Which she, of course, hadn't been. How much of it was due to a lack of natural ability, and how much was due to a lack of tutelage, she wasn't sure. Would a child learn any kind of ninja ability without being shown?

But that was meaningless for now, as she spent days meditating and reading, making notes and feeling her angry, overly full reservoir of chakra for the potential she'd never known existed. She knew her guards were bored, sick of watching her; but she couldn't even practice with the collar choking her chakra.

Instead Hayami reflected, focusing her attentions inwards, wading through the thick lake her chakra had become with no way to flow as it should.

Training with Inoki had been on the job fly or fall training.

Training with Gai had been physical, repetitive training.

Training here...was intrinsic, and interesting-and laced with ever growing fear as she failed to produce results. Her hand drifted towards the thick bandaging on her arm where she'd been punished last week for her failures. 12 horizontal cuts, one for each page of research notes passed to him that didn't contain certainty on how to actually use the bloodline ability. They itched, and she knew that they'd scar. He'd forced her, that day, to return to her old role of sitting next to him as he met with people-blood soaking her arm and the unstructured white dress that had been given to her that day. They'd taken hours to clot.

She was scared and frustrated. Without the ability to access her chakra she couldn't actually practice any form of jutsu, or give him any reliable answers, only theory and speculative results and he was angrier every time she arrived without a firm answer...

"Good afternoon Hayami!" a now familiar voice sung from the doorway as her...friend bent to come through the flap.

She couldn't help the true smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth as she leaned back, her shoulders clicking as she raised from her hunched position on the floor. "Is it afternoon already Tamiko?"

The girl was ballsy, she'd give her that, as she moved past Takayuki and poked him playfully in the ribs. She dragged a trolley of lunch, and the guards moved inwards towards the spicy smelling bowls and steaming bread. Every day the younger woman insisted on bringing her food, and always found a way to add more carbs, more calories, knowing Hayami needed it as she continued to throw up many of her meals in the evening, exhausted from the internal ravaging of her body.

"The master has asked for your notes so he can see your progress"

The looks of incredulousness on the group were matching as Takayuki ignored both the steaming bowls and the drooling people before him and held a hand out for the report she'd been working on.

"Taka eat your lunch first, you don't need to be business all the time!" Tamiko whined, rocking back on her heels with her arms crossed in front of her. The change in the young woman as she grew to trust Hayami and opened up was something Hayami had truly enjoyed watching. In Tamiko, Hayami had found a friend, a companion in this strange other world she'd been forced to occupy.

"Anyway" the young woman continued, teeth clacking around the moist bread as she spoke, "the new neck thing is being made so the notes are probably going to be useless"

The leader of their miniature sect grew stoney "And how do you know that?"

"The blacksmith told the dressmaker who checked her dimentions with us, then told us" she winked

"Women and their gossip!" he finally laughed, and Hayami found herself mesmerized by the sound, so foreign from the face that so rarely looked at her-but when it did was only with disgust or absent boredom.

Which returned as he watched Tamiko flop down next to her on the floor, handing soup and freshly baked bread to Hayami, who could only nibble it gently as she flicked through notes.

"Tamiko get away!" he called out, lip raising in disgust

All heads looked up

"Why?" the young woman asked, dunking torn bread into her soup.

"Because she is a prisoner! You shouldn't fraternise with her, she shouldn't fraternise with anyone! This is ridiculous! I will report it to the master!"

Silence, thick and heavy filled the room. Interesting silence. Did they not share his apparent hatred of her, or was it a lack of belief in Satoru?

"You'll report me to your master Takayuki?" Tamiko asked, her voice a veritable knifeblade.

"To OUR master, yes"

"Well we don't all serve him as you do, do we Takayuki?"

Hayami would be asking about that later, most certainly. It had to be related to what Daisuki had told her to ignore the night before.

"How dare y-"

"How dare I?" the tall, willowy woman stood. "How dare I? How dare you! The only ridiculous thing here is that you have an intelligent, lovely woman in the middle of your tent and she's chained to the floor! You treat her like dirt without a second thought to the fact that she's been kidnapped, hurt, dragged away from the people she loves and kept here, and that even when she's agrees to cooperate, to work with us, to learn from all this nonsense-she's still chained to the floor, threatened with death and forced to wear that blasted collar!"

"The collar is to protect us, you stupid little girl!"

"No, the collar is to protect you, I know I'd be perfectly safe! And anyway, you're not the one that has to clean blood from it every morning!"

His attention snapped down to where Hayami still sat on the floor. "it bleeds?"

She could only nod, unsure how to react in this situation.

"Then count yourself lucky Tamiko, that that's all I'm going to report to our master today"

As he huffed out, notes forgotten, Tamiko daintily dropped back down to the floor and continued with her soup. They stayed in silence for a few moments before one of the guards moved to sit with them on the floor, then the other two. She laughed at their sheepish looks, taking a swig of her canteen and offering it to her running companion, who nodded before accepting.

"Sorry about all this" he eventually said, gesturing to the chains holding her to the floor.

Hayami could only nod. It wasn't fine, but they also had no say in the situation.

"That's why you're running with us, ain't it?" another asked, gesturing to the collar.

She nodded. "I'm hoping it could help disperse my chakra"

"8 months with it blocked, I ain't heard nothing like it"

"No wonder the boss has us observing how she's getting on!"

"And what will you tell him?" She tentatively asked, glancing down at her notes. She had the vague feeling she'd just been given a piece of information she really wasn't supposed to know.

Her running companion was silent for a moment before answering tensely. "I think we'll have a chat later, won't we lads?

They shared a glance and nodded. Were they not as loyal as her overseer? Were they playing her, hoping she'd reveal tidbits of her life to use against her?...what was their play here?

"Anyway, you know that I'm Dai, that's Chou and Kuso"

She spluttered, head whipping round. "Kuso?"

The hint of a blush rose on his neck "just a nickname…"

She laughed, surprised at the sound coming, mostly unused, out of her own mouth.

She took their smiles in in return, and flashed a grateful one at Tamiko before truly looking the three men over over. Dai was the man she ran with, who looked to be in his mid 40s with those warm eyes and kind smile. Chou was slender with a mostly shaved head, save for the top which was pulled into a stubby ponytail. Kuso was incredibly tall, and proportioned like he'd had a growth spurt and was waiting for the rest of his body to catch up. He reminded her of a lolloping Inuzuka puppy.

Her chances of getting out just possibly went up by three, given how each glanced at the chain when they thought she wasn't watching

Whilst she knew she was still a sheep amongst wolves, the wolves were certainly looking less threatening each day.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's note- thank you to our new followers and new reviewers! We're only one off getting 100 favourites on , and we're over 100 Kudos now on Ao3- which is really exciting! I'm currently writing the escape chapter and the reuniting chapter, but if there's anything you would like to see in the story just let me know and i'll take it on board, i'm really excited to reunite them!

The tent flap opened, and she didn't bother glancing up, knowing it would be Takayuki returning in the same foul mood he'd left. She wasn't expecting the steps to stop before her, or for it to be Satoru standing before her.

She scrambled to stand, knowing she'd already left it too long to bow. She needed to stay on his good side, to fly below the radar until she'd figured out how to get out of these chains, how to access the bloodline ability that would ensure she couldn't be caught...before he killed her.

Strong fingers wrapped around the thick chain connecting her to the floor and calmly pulled her up, causing her to cough as the wide collar cut into her air supply; not intended to be used for lifting.

"I hear the collar is bleeding?"

"I...I think it's just chafing sir" she coughed, her throat raw. He gripped her shoulder and shoved her back down, sliding his fingers into her plait, which he wrapped around his hand- holding her head level to the floor as he crouched and maneuvered the collar, humming to himself before standing, resting a foot on her back to keep her against the ground.

"Tell me pet, how is your studying going? Have you discovered the secret to unlocking your potential to me?"

She took in a shallow breath, ready to answer, but he continued before she could "Do give me some good news, I've just had the most awful meeting with those bloody akatsuki heathens"

"Sir"

He ignored her second attempt at answering him. "Can you believe they were demanding twice the amount of blast jelly we'd discussed! You don't want me to take that out on you, do you Hayami?". Spurred on by the way his words were emphasised by a large foot pressing on her already sore back, she forced the words to come out.

"I have found the origin of the power, and have looked into other bloodline abilities to cross examine it's manipulation...I think I've been using snippets to hide myself…"

"And have you figured out how to turn into a shadow and move through them to obtain entry to any location with darkness within?" he interrupted

Her reply felt like lead in her mouth "no sir"

"No sir...do you know how much trouble I went through to find you Hayami? To bring you here? To get you this information? Do you remember what I said would happen if it so happened you weren't the asset I believed you to be?"

Fear raced through her "you'd kill me"

He bent at the waist, foot crushing into her back. Pushing her hair away from her ear, he whispered "Shall I kill you, or sell you instead? Do you know the money a pretty young thing like you would make me? Are you a virgin still Hayami? I bet you are, too shy to find anyone to love you...I could sell you to the highest bidder"

She whimpered in fear, wanting to make herself small but unable to move with the heavy foot pressing onto her ribs. She would choose death before allowing herself to be sold. His foot left her back and she took in a gulp of air, moving to get up and apologise, but unable to as he drove his boot into her side. She cried out in pain, feeling her ribs protest at every movement as she tried, in vain, to get away from him. The guards moved forwards but one look, mad and snarling from their leader had them standing firm in their positions.

Satoru grabbed the chain once more and dragged her towards him, cutting off her air. "Stay where you are!"

Three further times his boot met her slender frame, hitting her arm, her leg and her stomach a second time. One for each week she'd studied solidly and failed to produce results more than interesting snippets about hiding jutsu- pushing the air from her lungs until she gasped on the floor of the tent; body shaking with pain.

"What do they even need that much explosive gel for? Coming into my home and attempting to lecture me about art whilst giving me lip! I am tired of my standing being disrespected!"

He dragged the woman to her feet, and his fist met her face twice; one for each cloaked figure that had disrespected him that morning. The second had her back on the floor; head spinning.

There was a pause as his own breath mingled in the silent air alongside her own, heaving, as if he were struggling with the exertion of the task he'd just committed.

He turned and left, pausing at the flap that made the circular tent feel like a different universe to outside and sighing deeply, as if he'd just had to do something he didn't want to do.

"Hayami, I've brought some new books in for you. See to it that you read and understand them before I next call you through to see me"

The flap closed, and the entire tent was still, as if all were statues in a macabre exhibit. Dai darted forwards, whispering obscenities and ordering the two younger men to go and get Tamiko and a nurse, immediately.

A canteen was passed to her lips, a favour returned, and he helped her sit up, ignoring her quiet whimpers.

"Let's hope you can make something happen with those scrolls kid, for your own sake"

Takayuki could only stare as Dai assumed the role of leader, telling the others what to do and helping the young woman sit up.

This was his fault.

He locked eyes with the older man, saw the hatred within them for helping to put her in this position.

"Help her Takayuki" Dai snapped, and he darted forwards, brain in overdrive as he gently scooped her into his arms, gesturing for Dai to get the box Satoru had had him carry through.

Her head was heavy on his shoulder as he quickly walked through the compound, Dai at his heels. He tried to ignore the blood trickling from her split lip as it soaked into his shirt.

"You understand don't you Takayuki?" his friend said, weaving between the long cables holding the yurt like tents in place

"Understand what?"

Dai stopped him, his hand too rough on Takayuki's arm for a subordinate, but firm enough for a friend. "The kid can't stay here Tak"

"She's not a kid"

"That's your answer, seriously? After what we've just witnessed?"

"What can I do?"

She groaned against his torso, trying and failing to push away from him. "Geddof, traitor" she slurred, drunk from pain, and Dai shot him a pointed look.

"I was under orders!"

"You could leave too"

"You know I can't…"

Dai shot him a look, and they entered her tent, relieved to see Tamiko and Fumi already there.

"I told you to get a nurse!" Dai snapped out

"I'm medically trained" Fumi responded with a look, gesturing for Hayami to be lay upon the bedroll.

"Tamiko" Hayami croaked, groaning as Fumi began inspecting her bruised body. Tamiko crouched, looking at her friends pale and tired face.

"I'm a failure"

"You're not"

"But I can't figure it out, I don't think I can do it"

"Do what?"

"The kekkei genkai. It's not there...not in the way he wants it to be..."

"It must be"

"It's not...not every Hyuuga gets theirs, or in any other clan. There's always people it doesn't manifest in. He's going to kill me. He threatened to sell me"

Tamiko looked up at Fumi, tears in her eyes that she firmly swallowed down. But Hayami continued.

"If only the kids could see me now"

"Kids?" Takayuki turned on the spot, unable to take his gaze off the tear streaked face and heavily bruised side of the injured woman. She had children? He...he hadn't told him she had children.

"I didn't know you had kids" Daisuki asked, shocked, from behind the two, confused now by Satoru's threat. She was just a kid herself...

"I don't" she replied "I volunteer as a teacher to them, before...all this...I wanted them though"

"You could, with Gai maybe" Tamiko said gently, moving to fetch clean water for her colleague.

"You've still got the chance Hayami" she continued, "think of it, little kids with your hair and Gai's...nose?"

She gritted her teeth, hissing at the pain.

"You have a partner?" Takayuki asked, voice wavering lightly.

"He's a teacher in Konoha, the sensei of the students I've been working with" She answered, voice weak but steady now that they'd stopped poking at her definitely broken ribs.

"I...I didn't know"

"Why would you care?" She snapped, not caring in that moment that she knew she was being a bitch. She hurt everywhere and he was one of the reasons she was in here.

"I'm sorry" he muttered, turning and marching from the room.

Takayuki paused outside the yurt,crouching down and resting his forearms on his knees. He felt sick to the stomach, already filled with self loathing whenever he looked at her. He had completed his mission, even as she came to him as they walked and tried to chat, to offer tips and ensure he'd eaten enough. Her kind smile had haunted his dreams during that mission, knowing the plan was to capture and sell both her team-mate and the others he was travelling with.

He'd spent the whole time wishing he'd never learnt to access his chakra.

Why would Satoru lie to him? They'd promised to always be honest with each other.

If this was a lie, Then what else was a lie…

His head swam.

"What did he tell you when you took her, eh?"

Takayuki looked up into the tired eyes of Daisuki. "what do you-"

"Don't dodge the question Taka, you look like you're about to lose your lunch onto my shoes. What did the master tell you?"

"That she was alone. A loner. Only had her teammates, who were second rate ninja never in the town. He said no one would miss her!"

Second rate...Dai couldn't believe Takayuki had for one minute believed that. The redhead they'd captured had easily killed 20 men or more before they'd managed to get him stuffed in that cell...

Dai leant on one of the poles. "And what have you learnt?"

"He wouldn't lie to me!"

"What's changed Tak?"

"I could have you..."

"What. Have. You. Learnt?"

"That she's not alone! Okay? She's got family and friends and a boyfriend and she bloody volunteers with students for fuck sake!"

"So what are we going to do?"

Takayuki glared up at the older man before groaning, "I'm going to get answers"

Her upper arm was likely fractured, and his kick to her previous wound had reopened them all; needing restitching. Another medical member of staff had come in to help; and she tried to ignore the two whispering in the corner about how if they just had one medi-nin…

But chakra users were too useful now to be made into anything but weapons, now that Satoru was in charge.

She was so hot, so tired but alive and full of energy. Her body was on fire...she knew she'd passed out whilst they were stitching her up and setting her arm, the splint tight against her slick, sweat soaked skin.

A wave of nausea passed through her and she vaulted forwards in the bed, shaking as she heaved again and again, the contents of her stomach a hot mass passing up her throat. She felt so light, and yet so heavy.

"Hayami? Hayami! Fumi get the water!"

Tamiko's voice sounded so distant, swimming in and out of her brain. She heaved again, body releasing what little food she had left, hot and sticky down her front.

"Oh god she's vomiting blood, Kaya-san what do I do?"

Blood...the word was familiar, but she couldn't quite wrap her mind around the concept now. Blood should be in the body, not down her front. Yet Hayami knew it was escaping her mouth, tasting hot and metallic as it felt like it was pouring out of her mouth.

"Why is it coming out of her eyes?" Fumi's voice was shrill, the panic laced tone matching Tamiko and Daisuki and pulling Kuso and Chou into the room. Their screams vaguely registered but everything was mainly just...going black

Was this death?

All colour leached from the room as her companions became faint.

For the first time in...months...Hayami felt at peace.

If she was dying, perhaps it was for the best.


	23. Chapter 23

Authors note-

Good god this took some writing. I can seriously say I don't think i've ever re-written a chapter this much in my entire life. I hope it's worth it, and that it flows and makes sense and is linear…

...and makes sense

And that you all forgive me for the delay in her reaching Gai. 2 weeks ago when i was planning it out I was like 'ahh yes, they'll be together in like 2 chapters" and i had interactions between Hayami and Neji in my plan for chapter 24 that are just getting pushed back haha as i realised it was feeling really rushed.

Please be patient with me! One of my issues with my earlier chapters is that they're both rushed and not much happens, and now it'm having to push things around to avoid the same happening.

* * *

Panic racing through her, Tamiko ran; pushing past Daisuki in her haste. She couldn't remove the mental image of her friend, the blood splattered against the mismatched rugs that made up the tents floor. She darted through the crowds of people milling about their days and made quick speed towards her own dormitory. Shared with 9 other woman, the space was cramped and overly warm. She wasn't here to sleep though, instead diving at the small box containing her personal effects and reclaiming the jacket she'd been intricately embroidering for weeks now.

Her bargaining chip.

She checked it front and back, removing hanging threads and quickly restitching a couple of loose beads, ignoring the shake of her hands. Whilst her mother had always said she was too dumb for her own good, Tamiko knew what she'd seen. The blood coming from Hayami...from her eyes for goodness sake... had quickly become pitch black, thick and as dark as charcoal. Whatever timeline she'd been thinking of with Natsuki, it was fast forwarded.

And anyway...she didn't take much stock in what her mother used to say.

She folded the jacket and lay it in the wrapping, tucked it under one arm and moved once more into the fray. She needed to get to the communications tent, and fast. A jacket for a single message was expensive. But a jacket for a message and silence? She'd have embroidered an entire wardrobe for that privilege.

* * *

Hayami's mind drifted, floating and light. Lighter than she'd been in months, her soul feeling cloudlike in an almost ethereal way. All the fear and stress of her current existence melted away as her material trappings did; leaving her bare against the encapsulating darkness. She lazily lifted an arm in front of her, marveling in the darkness of the flesh. She'd always been tan, never porcelain like Jun, but she'd become a lot more pale recently as her body grew ill. But now...she looked alive.

Stars opened above her, illuminating her freckles, which seemed to dance and move under her gaze before opening up, each becoming a beaming reflection of the twinkling lights above.

If this was the afterlife, peaceful and glowing...she didn't want to leave. She could laze here forever, marvelling at the twisting constellations born upon her radiating skin.

She felt warm, as if she had dipped into a beautiful hot spring; mellow and content. Heat burst through her limbs, blossomed in her side and she glanced down, twisting with cat like grace. She vaguely remembered pain, aching and throbbing beneath her skin, which was rapidly becoming more light than flesh; but it seemed so far away now. It didn't matter. It didn't need to matter.

Nothing mattered, apart from the light.

Hayami marvelled at her shining arms, bringing the iridescent surface of her palm to her eyes, intently staring through the almost translucent surface. She couldn't see the bones though, just the strange inky blackness of the veins-refusing to turn gold.

No, not veins-she absently noted. It was her chakra network. She wasn't particularly surprised at the blackness, given the incredible, painful heat she'd been feeling, searing through her over the previous weeks. The burning had cut through her sleep, the nausea a constant companion and the hot sweats unbearable.

She imagined her chakra as charred, burnt out and non-existent and wanted to cry, knowing her life as a ninja was over. She would find a way to reclaim herself, if she wasn't dead.

The heat returned in her extremities, and she lazily observed the tips of her fingertips becoming black, spreading outwards from the destroyed pathways into the surrounding flesh. The heat returned, burning through the previously golden flesh and pulling a groaning moan from her mouth. Hayami forced her eyes open, watching through wincing eyes as her fingertips flaked away, floating upwards into the murky blackness like ashes in the wind. Her hand followed, until all that was left of the appendage was the snaking black of her chakra- which expanded, forming fingers where none remained. Her arm quickly followed, and she knew she should be worried but couldn't bring herself to feel anything but unending calm as she watched her own flesh float upwards and out of sight.

It was cathartic, the burning and scattering, feeling as if it had taken both eternity and seconds. Her limbs had felt light before, but now...she knew with certainty that her flesh limbs had been like lead compared to this. Twisting her fingers before her eyes, they felt weightless. They twisted and moved fluidly, and Hayami wondered if this was it, the true outcome of her research. She bore no collar in this world, no shackles binding her to failure, or commitment, or triumph.

Only...only peace. Peace and a feeling of completion.

* * *

"Satoru?"

"Come in"

Takayuki hated how much he steeled himself before entering. A part of him knew this wasn't normal but...he couldn't turn away.

"Ahh, Takayuki!" Satoru's smile was warm, and he stood from behind his maps, waving the younger man in.

"Come take a look, I'm planning our next move; we're going to be moving a little closer to Suna than I'd like but I've received an invitation to a fantastic auction in these ruins…"

Takayuki nodded, warmth filling him as the older man gestured him over, strong arms wrapping around his waist and holding him close as the two looked over the vast map that filled the table.

"We've finished the shipment of weapons for our mercenary friends, two weeks ahead of schedule"

Satoru nodded, chin bumping Takayuki's head. "Thank you, you have no idea how much it comforts me to know I can count on at least one competent worker in this place"

...worker? He wanted to question the wording, but no, he didnt dare. "It's an honour Satoru"

"Now pet, what did you come here for, it obviously wasn't just to see me?"

He smiled at the moniker. He used to grimace when people used cute nicknames but...not anymore "I wanted to ask something"

"Mmm?"

Takayuki pondered his wording, trying not to get distracted by the kisses being pressed to his neck or his own nerves. How could Satoru possibly be so loving after just beating a young woman? It chilled him to his core, giving clarity to his thoughts.

"...When you sent me to collect the prisoner"

"Yes?"

He paused, shame collecting within him at his own love for the man behind him. "You told me she had no-one, that she was no-one, that she was alone"

"I did?"

He turned, facing the imposing figure of their leader. "Yes"

"And?" Satoru asked, face bored apart from a raised brow.

"Why did you tell me that?"

"Why would I not?"

"Well...because well, it's not true"

Coldness radiated from the other man as he withdrew.

"Surely you learnt from what you just watched not to get on my bad side tonight Takayuki"

Takayuki stepped back, his rear pressing against the map table, eyes wide in fear.

"No, Satoru I wasn't trying to-"

As quickly as the kunai appeared it was rammed into the hard wood of the desk, which shook alongside Takayuki.

He loved satoru, and he knew that Satoru felt something...warm towards him, but this wasn't how loving relationships looked. He'd been watching other couples, saw how their touches were gentle, their words light and kind. He couldn't confidently say that he was loved, and tried to push to the back of his mind how much he'd given up to be back here. They'd moved so far from the entranced young man that followed the exciting renegade like a lovesick puppy; giving up his family, his position as second son, his honour...

"I don't particularly give a fuck what you were trying to do, or what you want to do. You belong to me, and you will do what I tell you and believe what I tell you to believe and accept it as truth!"

The older man's spittle hit his face as he ranted, quickly followed by a fist. Takayuki cradled his cheek, hating the tears that immediately sprung to his eyes.

"You are mine Takayuki! That scrawny green haired bitch, is also mine, thanks to you. I will make her do what I want and if she won't then I'll dispose of her as I do every insignificant worker who displeases me"

"but we-"

"How can there be a we when you don't trust me? When you believe the words of a pet rather than your master?"

Satoru trailed his fingers over the red welt forming on Takayuki's face, and the injured, tormented younger man tried and failed not to feel guilt at the frustration in Satoru's tone. Perhaps if he apologised, everything would be fi-no. He put a mental block in place, refusing to allow himself to convince himself everything would be fine and lovely if he only apologised.

"Look what happens when you question me? Look what you made me do"

He nodded, tears freely passing over his cheeks, knowing that he had been ignoring the truth of this for so long...for too long.

Lips that he usually eagerly awaited pressed against his own but he didn't feel the usual twinge of thrill tonight. They felt cold, distant and uncaring; and Takayuki couldn't bring himself to kiss back. Disappointed, Satoru sighed, leaning his forehead against his favourite underlings shoulder.

"Go"

Takayuki tripped over his own feet in his haste to move the moment he was outside of the tent. The guards stationed outside looked at him oddly; questioning why the usually stoic ninja was so shook, averting their eyes from his welted cheekbone. He barely noticed them though as his mind whirred; and he marched through the sand to the first of many stops he would make that night. He was going to make this right, he vowed; nodding his thanks to the seamstresses as they passed him large travelling bags with knowing glances. He felt no remorse as he slid weapons from the bunks of the other soldiers, coats and hefty boots. He slunk out into the night, the weight of the bags grounding him, and mentally checked through his list; turning on his heel and almost returning to his lover. No. He needed to be strong for once in his life. He moved towards the kitchens instead. This would be his last stop and then they would have to move quickly; once he collected enough rations for the entire group he would give the option of leaving there would be no hiding his intentions.

He fretted as he moved back to her small, heavily guarded tent; breathing an internal sigh of relief that he'd been in charge of the guard rotation. His own men could be trusted. They'd been there most of their lives, but he could see their worry over their charge. A worry he refused to acknowledge until it was beat into him emotionally over the last few weeks.

Their eyes widened, taking in how ladent down he was, and any small worries he had were immediately lifted as they smiled, moving to allow him access. "Looks like great minds think alike, eh sir?"

He raised an eyebrow and paused, quickly gave them their instructions for the night; ducking into the cramped space. Three faces stared up at him, two blanching with worry and one cracking into a relieved, proud smile.

"Glad to see you've come to your senses" Daisuki nodded.

"I need to make this right"

"Help us get her up then Taka, and dressed" Tamiko ordered, happily playing leader as she bossed the two outside guards, and the three awake occupants of the tent around.

"C...can she be moved? Or is she injured too badly?"

"We brought a healer in to help Fumi...He said that her body isn't that injured"

"She looked half dead"

"It's the collar, the chakra poisoning her from within. We don't know for certain but they think it's that the beating exacerbated the problem and caused the reaction-we need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible though, they'll have medi-nin who can be certain" Daisuki answered, shoving the young woman's research into one of the bags and fastening it onto his broad back.

He nodded gravely, and pulled the travelling clothes from one of the large bags, throwing them to Tamiko, and turning as her and Natsuki quickly dressed the unconscious woman.

"Where is Fumi?"

"She wanted to stay…to learn more about healing"

Natsuki patted a hand onto Tamiko's head, "She made her choice, you couldn't make her come"

The small woman paused, hands still over the large boots. "Taka?"

"I do wish you'd call me by my full name" he replied, betrayed by the happy smile not often seen as of late

"Did you bring socks in this master plan of yours?"

"Socks?"

"You brought boots. Men's boots. And no socks"

He scurried in the bags, to no avail, causing Tamiko to chuckle as she swung her own bag from it's hidden position inside the clothing chest within the room. "It's a good thing i've been planning too" she laughed, pulling out a pair of knee high boots and matching socks.

"It's not a fashion parade Tamiko"

"It would have been suspicious if I hadn't have ordered something ornate and decorative Taka"

"Oh for god sakes just put the boots on her!"

Fully dressed, they slid the oversized helmet over her face and slung her onto Takayuki's back.

"I'm sure she'd rather be carried by Dai... or Natsuki…" Tamiko attempted, but was shushed.

"It's my fault she's here, and I'll be the one to get her back"

The cold night air of the desert bit into their faces as they left the warmth of camp. To this day it unnerved Takayuki how cold it got in the desert at night, and he absently remembered how bundled Hayami had been in camp, how he'd scoffed alongside his fellow anbu til the cold hit. How Satoru had laughed, and given him the spare blanket from his pack…

No. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. He hiked the unconscious woman higher up his back, the cold, rough metal of her collar biting into his neck; thankful for the ropes they'd used to help hold her onto him. Thankful as the ground had shook beneath them repeatedly, taking them all off balance as they'd jogged through the night.

He hoped Chou and Kuso were alright, running ahead of them. He'd sent them to make a camp before even entering the room with Satoru, and they headed for it now; glad he'd had the foresight to keep it close, but not too close to Suna. At the time he'd chosen it simply as it felt like Suna was too obvious a choice but now the explosions had started, well it was safer to maintain a bit of distance. It would take a couple of days to get Hayami to Suna itself and they hoped the initial change of direction would be enough to throw any unwanted visitors on Satoru's behalf off their scent.

Give him enough time to pay his penance, to make this right.


	24. Chapter 24

Authors note-

Last night I realised I've never really described a couple of the OC's-Natsuki, Fumi, Takayuki, Tamiko...I'm curious-how do you imagine them?

Also, whilst trying to find descriptions of the characters, I realised Tamiko has only been in the story for like 5 chapters! With the planning time it feels like she's been here for months haha

This is a looooong chapter-enjoy!

* * *

Takayuki was on edge. He'd thought himself the hero, running away with a motley crew and an injured prisoner, knowing in his very gut he could make everything alright if he just got his green haired charge home to her loving family.

Well, safety felt a lot longer than a couple of days away; and home even longer than that. He constantly doubted himself, to the point where he'd been sent to keep an eye on the horizon by Daisuki, who had told him if he pouted for a minute longer he'd get a swift slap.

He wasn't pouting.

He was worried though, doubting himself and his ability to complete the task of returning her safely. They'd been gone for almost 12 hours, and Hayami was still unconscious. Her eyelids fluttered, her face scrunched and relaxed...but her eyes refused to open. He sighed, pulling his sword from his belt and swiping it into the air, moving through the practice sets his own sensei used to drill him through. The metal of the hilt; wrapped in coarse fabric, was familiar in his strong hands. Familiar was desperately needed, and he relished in the burn in his muscles, falling into the zone he always used when training. When it was just him and his sword, no heartbreak, or doubt, or fatigue. No dark circles under his eyes or desolate feelings creeping into his brain.

Just the moves. Just the desert air, chilling into his bones. Just the familiar, safe feeling of the breeze around him.

* * *

At 18 hours, they moved once more, sleep clinging to the group as they packed up what they'd dared remove from their bags the night before and moved back out into the dunes, away from the copse of trees they'd hidden behind the previous night. Whilst the explosions from the previous day were gone, the worry as to what they would find in Suna rocked through them all. If the town were levelled, would they be able to get her to the nearest healer, or would she die? If they chose to bypass the town altogether, would they even know where to go?

"Sandstorm ahead lad"

Daisuki's deep voice gravelled through him, comforting as it always had been. The words however, weren't quite as healing to his soul.

"You have to be kidding me"

The group paused, glad for the break as they perched on an outcrop of rocks. He slid Hayami off his back and Tamiko gently took her, dripping water into her unconscious mouth.

Natsuki joined them, gazing out at the haze. "We can't travel through that sir. Not with civilians, and certainly not with Hayami the way she is"

"It...it's not sir anymore Natsuki" he replied, a strangled look on his face. "And you're right. What are our options? Tell Chou to bring the map over and we'll have a look. Dai- how long til it hits?"

"You became sir when you chose this course of action, stick with it" was all she replied as she walked back to the group, Chou rifling through a pack for the map they'd swiped.

"We've got about an hour til it hits with the wind the way it is"

"We need to bunker down then. And act fast"

The map was pristine, new. Not how Takayuki liked them. He'd always had old maps, worn and weathered and marked with useful information.

A small voice interrupted them, and they looked towards Tamiko, the young girl usually silent during planning like this. "There's a ruin around here"

They looked back to the map, then to her. "What do you mean there's a ruin around here?" Takayuki asked.

"Hayami told me about a ruin, it's about 2 hours behind us-we passed it, i'm sure of it! She told me about it when we were around here last week, so I looked out for it..." she responded, hands continuing to plait Hayami's hair away from her face, where it had become plastered with sweat as they'd travelled.

"2 hours?"

Her hands stilled, and she worried at her lip with her front teeth.

"She liked to tell me stories as we travelled, and I don't take her for a liar""

Taka looked down at the map, and back to that tiny, pale woman. He could feel the wrongness in the air, the impending storm that would batter them, likely pulling the skin from their flesh.

"Let's go then"

2 hours...it would be a push. They packed their meager belongings quickly, and moved at an incredibly fast, hard pace. He was nervous, scared to retrace their steps and possibly run into Satoru's retrieval team but...he had a squad to look out for. All their lives were now in his hands.

* * *

The sandstorm was a veritable lion behind them, the roar of the wind and sand deafening as they sprinted through the desert. Natsuki had picked up Tamiko, and he was happy to see Daisuki holding his own. Chou and Kuso were ahead, using their enhanced speed to scout, but he refused to leave the others. A shout, and Natsuki nodded, Tamiko's peel of laughter squealing as Nat truly ran, faster than he and Daisuki, towards the ruin, jutting out on the horizon. She was back quickly, and didn't stop, barreling into Daisuki's stomach and throwing him over one shoulder. "Come on old man"

Takayuki couldn't hold in the true smile that brought from him, watching the silvery brown ponytail bounce as he was hauled away towards the ruins. Nothing held him back then, and he took off, willing his exhausted chakra reserve to move him forwards, faster than the sand that was at his heels; swallowing up any trail of their movements. The end of the storm swallowed them up, but his hand found Natsuki's in the dense fog of sand and they moved as a unit, faster than he felt he'd ever run before. The sand quickly became stone underfoot, and he could hear the shouts of his team. And then he felt nothing, falling into a hole in the ground and pulling Nat and Dai in with him. He landed on his knees, pain flaring upwards, but they were safe. For now. The two younger men quickly wedged their packs into the hole they'd come through, plunging them into darkness.

His hands shook as he unfastened his own, human backpack, and the gentle moan she gave as they slipped her onto the ground was the only sound to be heard over the group's heavy breathing.

"Might as well sleep here everyone. I don't think anythings finding us tonight"

* * *

A fine sheet of sand covered everything, and everyone as she awoke.

Hayami groaned as she willed her eyelids to open. Her entire body felt heavy, impossibly so after experiencing the smoke body in her dreamstate. She had unlocked something, that was for certain. Inoki had always taught her-"trust dreamstate visions, they often show you truths your mind needs time to process"

Well her mind was desperate to process this one.

As well as it was currently processing the fact that this... This wasn't her tent.

The man cuddled against her side...well that wasn't Gai. Neither was the person on the other side...urgh it was too dark! If she could force chakra into her eyes she'd be able to see, but she didn't dare try right now, not til she had to, or was in a position where she knew she was safe to practice what she felt would happen when she tried. When that black smoke...no. Now wasn't the time. She forced strength into her limbs; wiggled her toes as she'd always been taught, then folded the leg. Two legs, fully operational. Good sign.

Always look for the good signs.

Was she in another dungeon? She wasn't shackled, though a gentle turn of the head showed the collar remained. Figures. Her arms felt numb as the moved them, palms against the floor and tried to stand.

Not numb.

Pain blossomed up her left arm, and her mind flitted back to the attack. She lifted the arm, glaring at it's useless form in the darkness; and stood on weak legs. They tingled with misuse as she walked, imagining she looked quite a lot like a newborn foal, over to where she was certain she could see small beaded shafts of light. Someone yelped as she stood on what felt like their leg, and she quietly apologised, not stopping as she stood under the small lights and felt the ceiling above her. Stone. Stone. Stone...Fabric. Fabric she could work with, and she pressed lightly, feeling as whatever was blocking the escape sagged upwards in her hand, and an impossibly bright light filled the tiny room, eliciting yelps from it's occupants. Her eyes burned and she shoved what she now knew to be a bag, out of the way, poking her head out of the hole.

The desert was a welcome sight, fresh and new, and the layer of sand made sense. A sandstorm.

She could run.

Adrenalin filled her, and she looked in all directions. The camp was completely gone. She could just go, just hop out of here now and pick a direction and move. Once the stars came out she'd be gone-she could navigate from them as well as any map. Back to Konoha. Or suna...Hell even the valley would offer sanctuary, as long as she was careful.

But...Tamiko.

The young woman, the threat against her life. That was one of the main reasons she'd stayed. She'd thought the research was for naught when she'd been unable to create results, had realised after beginning that it was obvious Satoru took her for a fool. They weren't family, and she could tell the information was stolen, not gifted. But each person she connected with, each innocent member of that team she'd befriended. They were in danger if she ran. She had to find Ta…

"Hayami!"

"Tamiko?"

The young woman connected with Hayami's side and she looked down, confused.

"I...was going to come and find you."

"What are you talking about?" Tamiko laughed

"I don't know why we're here but have you got the notebook?"

"Of course I have"

"Then come on, we're leaving"

"No, no. Hayami wait"

"We can't wait Tamiko, i'm sorry. We need to run"

Anger and frustration bubbled through her at the young woman's peals of laughter. This was no laughing matter!

"I would appreciate it if you took this seriously Tamiko"

The young woman was gasping now, and Hayami resisted the urge to tap her foot, instead raising her good arm out of the hole and hopping upwards, trying to get enough leverage to pull herself out and into the desert.

Tamiko's arms wrapped around her torso and pulled her back in.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hayami hissed, glaring daggers at her young friend.

Movement from below them, and Hayami's heart raced. She tried to jump up again, but another head joined them. "Only me kiddo"

"Daisuki what are you doing here?" she snapped, eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide in confusion.

"Sorry to break up the master escape girly, but we've already escaped with ya"

She licked her chapped lips and narrowed her eyes, twisting and ducking back into the hole, where she could indeed see Chou and Kuso giggling like schoolgirls, Nat smirking, and...Takayuki. Their eyes met, steely grey to muddy brown. "Let's get you home Hayami" was the only thing he said, eyes flitting down to stare at his shoes.

"Thankyou"

And she meant it, ducking back into the alcove, tears pricking the backs of her eyes at the truth that she was free.

"I used the story you told about that storm you had to wait out with the team and that cute circus boy and how they teased you about how shy you got that you wanted to jump into the storm!"

Ah. Yes. She did know this alcove, and remembered the beautiful 5 hours she spent in the corner Takayuki currently inhabited trying to pretend she didn't exist as Hikaru and Jun made her life a living hell. Of course they'd had candles then, and as they were 1 adult and 4 teens it was a lot less cramped. She'd told it to the young woman a week before, when they'd passed through this area, the two laughing as they'd travelled in the long procession of workers. Satoru had never quite trusted her enough to let her out of the cage, but when Tamiko sat on top of it and spoke to her it didn't feel quite so small.

"Well done Tamiko" she praised, pulling the woman into her side, her uninjured arm wrapping tightly around her back. She settled into a cross legged position on the stone floor. "Where to then?"

"Well we're not sure" was the soft answer from Takayuki, causing her eyebrow to raise. "You don't know where you're going?"

"We were considering Suna but…"

The group looked shocked, Takayuki being so...subservient. None of his usual swagger and confidence.

Daisuki slapped a large hand on his shoulder, pushing him forwards towards the map. The sensation snapped him out of his guilt, and he caught the older man's eye. He had never seen a look so accurately slap him in the face before, but accepted the mental blow, squaring his jaw and taking in the small woman. She was more like the Hayami he'd kidnapped today than at any point within the camp, the obviously adopted persona entirely removed as she looked over the fabric map. This was the Anbu leader, albeit more than a little battered and skinnier than she was before.

"The sandstorm caused us to turn. And with the explosions…"

Hayami nodded. "You didn't know what you'd find. And i'm guessing with me unconscious medical care was your priority"

"It was. Are...Are you okay?"

"The beating wasn't what caused the reaction, that was basic training compared to what i've seen and faced in the field before. I think it was my chakra, but whatever it is, it seems to have stabilised. So yes. And stop pussyfooting around"

"Pardon?" he coughed out

"By the way they're looking to you, this was obviously your work"

"I…"

"Am I correct?"

"You are!" Chou replied, happily rolling a cigarette to the side of them

"You have my thanks Takayuki"

He nodded.

"but not my forgiveness"

His eyes became sad, and she forced herself to look away. "Have you seen any sign of a retrieval squad?"

"None, but he'll have sent them"

"Then we don't go to Suna. If he sent them out they'll have gotten trapped in the storm just the same, and they'll assume we'll go straight to Suna. We go to Konoha"

"Are you sure? Do you know the way to Konoha?"

She looked around, and happy in the knowledge that she could trust the people around her, she revealed her hand. "Tamiko, please can you pass me my notebook?"

"Hayami, I really, really admire your dedication but...i'm not sure this is entirely the right time for research"

She laughed "You know that's not all that's in there"

She moved with purpose, sliding pages from pockets they had no idea existed, and unfolding enormous pieces of parchment, fabric and scraps-taped stitched and folded together intricately. A carefully crafted map of the region emerged.

"I've been using the stars to map where we are in the desert, and given our current location-we're close to Suna. Only a day at most. If you look at the position of the bird constellation, i'd say the 20 degree rotation gives us a mile or so leeway. We're at the old temple ruins, about 2 miles north of our next spring, so I say we stock up on water and set off back this way, to Konoha"

The group stared. "What?"

"How...you're outside for a morning run and an evening walk between two tents. How do you know all that?" Chou asked, cigarette forgotten.

"I know these deserts, and the stars. And it's the cold season, shown by the change in produce. Cold season affects the paths and the dunes, the stars and their positions...and the weather- less sandstorms but when they do hit, they're worse. We were in that location for a week now and footprints were lasting at least a couple of days, showing the lack of wind. It was gearing up for a storm, and we should be able to travel west to Konoha without hitting another one"

"How were you captured?"

"Ironically, I ran out of Chakra"

* * *

When she was small, and weak, and subservient, it was easy to forget that the woman currently jogging with them was a trained ninja. But here, it was like she's taken on an entirely different persona, and Kuso couldn't take his eyes off her.

9 months, he'd known her as Hayami the prisoner, and hadn't really thought much other than how unfortunate it was that she was in that position. 4 days out here, and...she was a proper kunoichi. And he discovered that he really rather liked that.

Whilst she had to keep stopping to rest and sit, her body weak from a lack of mobility and exercise, he could see the confidence in her movements. Fever broken, she'd changed into clean clothes; the loose, large white men's tunic bellowing behind her as she ran, the too long pants cut with one of the knives and tucked into the tops of the high leather boots. They only had a small dagger for her, most of the weaponry left behind as it would just slow them down. Speed would be on their side, she'd said.

Her hair, loose and almost reaching the small of her back was drying in the hot air- and fell in bouncing curls. If you ignored the collar...well freedom truly suited the young woman.

Who was currently talking to him.

Shit.

"What?"

She laughed. "I said are you listening Kuso, but I think that answered my question!"

And then he saw movement as Hayami's laugh cut off, she suddenly turned, and they all watched a swift plume of the colour stretch across Tamiko's shoulder.

His sword was out of its casing and in his hand faster than he could think, and he watched the outcrop of trees to their right. He had been so excited to reach the forest that meant Konoha was a mere day away, but now...it had been too easy!

She'd told them they needed to be alert, and guiltily, he knew he'd been the opposite.

"Dai"

"Hayami?"

"I need you to take your scarf and strap my arm to my chest"

He tore his gaze away from one young woman who he needed to protect to the other young woman he needed to protect.

"Why?"

"Because I can't worry about catching my arm, it'll be safer strapped to me"

"you're not fighting"

"I certainly am"

"You're not ready"

She glared, "I am asking you to strap my arm Daisuki"

"and I'm asking you to get behind me"

She could feel it, hear it, the incoming Kunai, and was ready this time, stepping quickly in front of the man and feeling the familiar ache of it embedding into her fleshy upper arm.

Tamiko's scream cut through the deathly silent group, more scared at the sight of her injured friend than at her own bleeding wound.

* * *

A loud, feminine scream stopped the four man squad in their tracks as they made their way towards Suna, backup for Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura.

Suna. Gai knew the trio hated moving towards the distant town as much as he did, passing through the sandy desert that had consumed their friend. He pushed them hard, hoping the workout would ease their minds, fill them with energetic, youthful spirit as they sprinted onwards towards their shared goal.

At this time of day though...in such a quiet part of the forest border...the panic in that foreign scream was more worrying than anything in their own private lives.

Eyebrows furrowed they looked aross the expance of forest and towards the distant, muffled noise. Tenten looked up at the sun. "It's only 2pm, we should be the only team in this forest...right?"

"As far as i'm aware. Neji, can you take a look?" Gai asked, stilling his hands from where he'd crouched, tightening his leg weights.

The young man looked up, concentrating on the source of the noise as his entire world went black and white. "It looks to be a fight. There's 2 sides if the outfits are any indication-some are in matching gear, some are in shirts and trousers and they don't all have chakra training"

"They're not all ninja?"

"No, there's a couple who are, but…"

"Go on" Tenten urged, hand resting on his upper arm.

"I can't see any faces, but one of the civilians- they have no chakra pathways at all... is in restraints"

Tenten furrowed her brows in confusion. "What kind of restraints?" she asked, more cautious than Gai about stepping into business they weren't involved in. The veins around his eyes subsided, and he stood, carefully storing his canteen in his bag and getting ready to move. "Neji?"

"Some sort of collar, and chains"

"You don't think…" Lee began, pausing before practically whispering the word "Slaves?"

"It looked like an escaped slave, being retrieved. Possibly a family, going by their sizes"

She blanched. "H...how could you tell?"

"There was another woman, she looked our age. An older man protecting her-possibly a father. The one in the collar was small, I couldn't tell if they were a girl or a boy-not without seeing their faces"

"You think it's related to…" she began, but let her words drift as her sensei stood, carefully controlled anger clouding his features.

Gai stretched, letting his body warm for a second. "Right team-let's get down there and assess the situation! It shouldn't take us much off course. Neji, keep your Byakugan active, and keep us updated on the situation"

* * *

Hayami ignored daisuki; who finally dropped his gaze and stepped in front of Tamiko, pulling his black scarf off and making quick work of the strapping, frowning as he took in her one working arm; the dried blood around her collar...how small she was under the billowing clothes. The list went on, but as he looked at those determined almond eyes, the angry scrunch of her pale, freckled nose. He knew that look perfectly well from the other women in his life…there was no point even attempting to argue.

He pulled the kunai from her injured arm and passed it to her, but she shook her head and gestured to Tamiko. "Defend yourself if you need to, otherwise, don't get involved, okay?"

The young girl nodded, eyes ignoring Hayami entirely as they focused on the figures moving out of the desert and towards the copse of trees.

Hayami took stock of the group. Not counting her they had 2 fully trained ninja, and 2 trainees. Dai was a mercenary, and Tamiko a civilian. She was weaker than usual, and would be fighting with no chakra. No tricks, no weapons save her dagger. Gai had helped her turn her own body into a weapon but it wasn't as sharp as it once was...she grit her teeth and unwound the chain from where they'd tucked it around her, holding it loosely in one hand and spinning it lightly in the air.

Even a blunted weapon could kill a man, if swung hard enough.

"Takayuki! What the hell were you thinking?" the man at the front screamed, hands in the air. She counted 8 men and 2 women, each much better armed than them. She reached her hand to the back of her head out of habit, frowning when she remembered she'd not had a forehead protector for some time now.

"I told you Taka, to wait it out. That he'd lose interest in her! Why would you betray us?"

"Because it was wrong! What we were doing was wrong!"

"You never cared before, at the slave auctions!"

"I did! I just turned away-but I couldn't turn away any more!"

"You're pathetic! And now you're going to die!"

The group charged, weapons drawn, and Hayami forced her mind to still. Grit ran straight to Takayuki, the light shining off his scarred, angry face. She ignored them though, focusing on the two running for her, and moving herself away from the others, letting them chase her through the sand. "Hayami no!" Tamiko screeched, but she ignored her, pulling them out of danger by taking it with her. Natsuki battled one of the larger opponents to her right, and she was glad to see Chou and Kuso battling anyone coming for Daisuki and Tamiko. One lunged for her, and Hayami sidestepped, letting him lose his balance and roll past her along the grassy sand. She twisted, balancing on the balls of her feet and threw the length of chain forwards with force towards the remaining ninja. It was sloppier than she would have liked, wrapping around the hilt of the long Katana-but the look of fear in her opponent's eyes, the surprised gasp from Daisuki-they drew an unashamed smirk to her lips. She pulled the chain forwards and snatched the weapon from the air, stabbing its tip into the ground as she wound the chain around her waist. She hated fighting one handed, fighting injured and weak without chakra, but she needed to do this; needed to show her strength.

She'd spent too long afraid, for both herself and her new friends. Weak, soft. No. Now she would attack. She stared into his wide eyes as she slid her dagger from it's pouch. He had a smaller weapon holder at his waist, And she hoped it contained something more her style than the sword. He flinched to the left, but he didnt have a chance to move to her side as she darted forwards, dancing around the first attacker and throwing her small dagger at his head. The weight was wrong in her hand, the blade unbalanced, and she glared as the off balance dagger burrowed instead into his neck.

Messy. The blood spurted outwards, spraying onto her face as she was on him rapidly, burying the plucked dagger into his gut and swiping the pouch from his downed body, ignoring the gurgling wet sounds whispering from his dying lips. Perfect, full of senbon. She darted back to Daisuki, closer than anyone else

"Daisuki help me attach this"

He simply nodded this time, moving to help and then back to Tamiko. He'd been a guard for years, but against real ninja…the kid slid three of the long, needlelike weapons out of the pouch and smiled at him, a true, happy smile. "I can't access my chakra but i'm still a ninja, let me protect you"

"I think you've been protecting us for some time kid"


	25. Chapter 25

Authors note- i'm going to play with canon a little, but not too much. I never want to write in a way that lifts directly from the manga or the anime, but I also don't want this to be an alternate universe story; so i'm going to do my best to make this fit! Which is difficult I admit when none of your friends watch or read Naruto and you have to talk ideas through with a very confused boyfriend who thinks Gai has to help rescue the "mayor of sand town"

Onwards!

* * *

Neji stumbled as the figure turned, long hair flying behind them as they ran away from the two untrained members of the group and straight for him in the trees. She was smaller, weaker, and her chakra pathways were black and ruined...but it was definitely Hayami. Strong hands gripped him as he tripped, and he could feel the worried looks of his team at the uncharacteristic movement. He couldn't move though, gripping the tree and staring at the ghost only he could see.

Her smile was lethal as she flung the length of chain forwards, pulling the weapon from the air and killing her attacker. Something was wrong with her, why wasn't she using her chakra, what had happened to it?

His mind roughly processed muffled words and he pulled himself together; calming his erratic heartbeat and straightening up, turning to his team. "We need to hurry"

"Why, what did you see?" his sensei asked, obviously shocked to see his eldest pupils mask crack even the smallest amount.

"The prisoner, the collared one that I couldn't pinpoint-with no chakra at all..."

"Yes?"

He forced his words to stay steady, his walls to rebuild and the Hyuuga mask to slide back into place, pushing back the panic that clawed at his throat.

"It's Hayami"

* * *

Hayami turned and darted forwards once more, relishing the feel of the senbon in her hand. Two she slid horizontally into her mouth, finding her way rapidly back to her own initial attacker. The familiarity of the senbon was comforting; the only item of this fight she knew she was equally lethal with without the support of her chakra. She jumped at him, legs burning with the force of the jump; landing with her thighs either side of his face and twisted, feeling the bones of his neck crunch as they broke. She span as he fell, launching two of the senbon out towards Takayuki. One lodged itself in the eye of a ninja about to spear him from behind, causing him to scream, and the other dead on his jugular. Her own victim hit the floor and she rolled off him, refilling her pouch with his kunai and sliding his dagger from it's sheathe to quickly block an oncoming blow. Her foot made it's way into the woman's stomach, kicking her outwards; but her lack of chakra strength made itself known as the enemy ninja laughed; forming seals and sending an onslaught of fire straight at her.

Hayami had no choice but to hit the ground and roll forwards out of the line of fire, twisting gracefully and slashing at the woman's ankles. One tendon should have cut straight through, but the ninja simply substituted, a block of wood landing on the ground in her wake. Hayami felt blind without her chakra threads, at a complete disadvantage in the open without any of her normal tricks, and had to backflip out of the way as the ninja appeared before her- grinning as she alternated between slashing into the air with her weapon and sending great plumes of fire her way Her pulse screamed in her ears as she flipped through the air, spinning and rolling to avoid the attacks; wishing she'd allowed Tamiko to cut her hair as it fell in great dirtied tendrils around her face. How Neji fought with his hair so loosely tied she'd never understand-but she couldn't exactly tie it up with the one hand. She ducked, avoiding another plume of flame and flung three Senbon at the woman, smiling in victory as they landed exactly at their mark; along the pressure point of her wrist, causing her hand to spasm and the hand sign to fade. Hayami launched onto the attack, unwinding her chain once more as she ran forwards, slapping the enemy about the face with its dense, metal end. Her opponent screamed, blood flowing from her crushed nose, but Hayami didn't dare stop, twisting like a leaf in the wind to avoid a handful of thrown kunai and landing a strike again, causing the woman's eyes to unfocus. She jumped for her opponent, and was once more was glad for the ingrained training, her own flurries of kicks and punches taking the woman off guard. She felt power pound through her alongside her determination, and let loose what she'd been holding in; feeling free and fast as the blackness saturated her skin, speeding her punches. Her enemy ducked, and Hayami barely felt the cut along her torso as she took in way the tree had cracked as her hand had missed it's mark.

Hands moved around her waist and pushed and Hayami struggled to reign in the exhale of smoke that oozed from between her lips. Just the hands, she tried to order her body-glancing again at that ruined tree-just the hands!

Her opponent staggered back, disgust lacing her features as the smoke billowed against her mangled face, and Hayami fought to calm her body, palming a Kunai and using the distraction to throw herself on the opponent. She shoved flurrying swipes of the blade into the woman's torso, until she was backed up against the remains of the oak. The woman grabbed the chain and spun the two, forcing Hayami against the tree violently, and punched downwards, the blows aggressively connecting with her face, her torso, the fractured arm. She tried to block out the pain, using the assumed victory to her advantage as the kunai she'd been using to swipe at the woman was rapidly embedded between her enemies ribs; forced in; right to the hilt, and Hayami wiped the blood and sweat off her brow as the other ninja crumpled to the floor.

Looking to the side, she allowed herself a brief moment to lean against the tree and catch her breath, head spinning and vision blurring. Out of the ten, only 4 remained, though Kuso was unconscious, and Chou looked exhausted. She'd noticed the camp wasn't training them properly, and this was the outcome. They looked as battered as her, as bruised and covered in dirt, grime and blood.

The only consolation was that Chou still protected Tamiko and Daisuki; though by the way he laboured his side, she guessed Dai had been hit with something. Natsuki was still going, locked in a fierce battle with the largest of the men, their Katana clashing in the bright sun.

Hands, thick and scarred, wrapped around her neck, around the collar. One slid down, grasping the chain and yanking it, pulling her against his body.

"There you are, little Kunoichi"

Grit.

"I am so sick of you. The days I had to watch over you, oh you don't know how much I hated them...I should have been out with the other soldiers, completing missions and protecting our master; but instead I was forced" his hands slid downwards, and his nails dug into the skin of her arms.

"To watch"

Her stitches screamed

"A scrawny"

Blood trickled down her arms, sticking to the loose material of the flowing shirt.

"Fucking"

She tried to wiggle out of his grip as his leg forced her feet apart.

"Bitch"

He kicked her foot again and it slipped to one side, fatigue kicking at her without her chakra to support her. She lost balance and fell forwards, and kicked her, rolling her onto her back. Her eyes widened as he dropped to his knees, straddling her prone, sore body

"Do you remember my threats, the nights I had to watch over you whilst you slept? They were my favourite, not having to pay attention or pretend like I cared. All those hours to think. All the fun things I said I'd do to you once Satoru got sick of you? If I bring you back...you're mine. And if you still can't perform..."

He slid the chain over, one hand on her forehead, pushing her head back; the other laying it over the top of her neck.

"Well...then I can use you til you're done with, and then we'll sell you on"

He held the chain down; and she thrashed beneath him, hating that his additional bulk made him impossible to shift. She panicked, and tried to hit him with the remaining good hand but it was useless, and as her oxygen cut off she knew her hits were kitten weak.

"I'll keep you in those little dresses, the ones you would wear to sit next to the master, to look pretty for his visitors. And I think if I asked nicely, I could have the brunette as well..."

Black spots entered her vision, and an unsettling calm filled her; replacing the panic. She barely even felt the pain against her neck anymore, didn't hear the sounds of battle as closely. They sounded muffled, far away.

* * *

"We have to hurry!"

* * *

One thing did remain though, his threats against Tamiko. In the past year or so, truthfully Hayami had begun to lose count a little of the exact amount of time, she was the only person she felt she could open up to; the only reason she'd stayed sane. No. She refused to let him drag Tamiko back. Her consciousness was waning, her strength leeching away, but she let the smoke drift through her pathways, a satisfying burn that reminded her she was still alive, still capable of fighting. She let herself go placid, hand forming a fist that rested softly against his chest, and timed her attack; focusing on the blackness collecting under her skin, on the feeling of it as it leeched through, she shape that collected over her curled fingers. Sweat dripped from her brow, but it wasn't suspicious as he saw her eyes flutter closed.

And then she unleashed, letting the blackness transform, feeling it harden and sharpen outside of her fist. He startled, coughing blood onto her face as he moved, releasing the chain and staring down at his own chest; the misshapen jagged edge just visible. He pushed himself off, blood pouring from his torso, his hands glistening in it as he touched the hole and lifted them to the light.

And then slid down, lying face first in the dirt next to her as she felt the darkness slide away into her skin. She gasped, the breaths burning as they moved towards her lungs. Her hand moved to the collar, attempting to lift it even a millimeter away from her skin, to feel less confined by its rigidity-to no avail. The sounds of fighting returned, and footsteps rapidly approached. God, she couldn't do this. Not another fight. She rolled to her front and forced herself to her knees, trying to will the strength into her fist once more, and raised her bloodied face, preparing to fight to her own, likely, death.

But her eyes widened at the sight of the enemy, and any strength immediately waned at the sight of Konoha's Green Beast, sprinting directly towards her. This couldn't be happening. She had to be hallucinating, the oxygen deprivation causing the madness before her. But then he hit the floor before her, and his hands were on her arms, her face, running upwards and pushing the grimy hair away from her face. There was no disgust in his eyes at her appearance, none at the dirt coating his hands or at how easily she felt she'd almost been defeated; as she worried he would. Just...relief. His hands moved to her chin, and then further, to the thick band of metal that had been constricting her for months; and the relief in his expression turned to sadness, then anger. She could see the muscles tense in his neck, his shoulders, his arms-all working as he focused his strength on the ring. The others had tried during the journey but none had any effect, the metal hadn't budged once. Under his determined hands however, it groaned; then gave way with an almighty crack, the seal giving way and the collar falling to the ground at her knees.

Tears tracked down her face as she looked to the side and saw Tenten and Neji tending to her companions, saw that whilst they were injured, none were dead; or least none appeared to be; only unconcious.

She'd protected them. She laughed, feeling lighter than she had in months without the weight of her burdens or strappings. They were out, they were safe, and here, as Gai moved his hands downwards, wary of the strapped arm, and wrapped them around her waist, burying his head into her shoulder; she was home.

Her eyes fluttered closed and for once this year, she didn't resist as darkness overtook her.

* * *

Tenten looked up as Gai walked towards them, holding Hayami so gently and smiling with more genuine happiness than she'd seen in some time.

"Is she okay?"

"She needs first aid but...I think she's just exhausted"

Tamiko moved towards her friend as her unconscious body was laid on the ground, pulling bandages from her pack and helping Tenten remove the shirt, wrapping the wounds on her arms.

"She only regained consciousness a couple of days ago, and we've been moving constantly since then. She...was beaten just before we left, and we had to carry her the first day"

Gai looked up and the young girl, then down to Hayami, noting the scars that flecked her torso as Tamiko lifted the slim top underneath, bright and pink against her naturally tan skin; now also unnaturally pale. She was slimmer, if he paid attention, than before.

"She'll need fresh clothes, if we want the wounds to stay clean" Tenten remarked, and Tamiko pointed to a bag behind them. "She looks like she decided to roll across the dirt"

The older man in the group rubbed his face with the heels of his hand, moving forwards to help the trio lift her into a seating position. "She essentially did, I...I never imagined she could move like that"

"You didn't know she was a kunoichi?" Gai asked, confused. He knew he had a terrible memory, but the one thing that had stuck with him was her skill, her confidence in the field completely contradicting the endearing shyness she always portrayed with him.

"It was need to know, we thought he'd just taken a scholar to do his research. She just studied, read...and lounged next to him. And when she told me..."

"Lounged?" Neji interjected

Gai looked down at Hayami and then away, and looking to the side he could see the same pointed stare coming from both Tenten and Neji.

"Enough talk. You" the small woman pointed at Neji "Pass me something from the bag"

The older man seemed relieved to have attention taken from him, taking a sip instead from the water skein at his side and helping Tamiko to clean off their injured friends face.

When Neji didn't move however, Tamiko stood, plucking the flimsy white dress from the very confused teen; who was holding the fabric up into the light and looking back down at Hayami. "Where would you wear this…" he muttered. She shoved it back into the bag and dropped it at Hayami's feet.

"Why would you bring that dress lass?"

"I couldn't exactly grab out of the ordinary clothes could I? Plus, I did the stitching myself and I happen to think she looks lovely in it"

"I'm not sure it's going to be her style once she's back, Kid. Or that she'll even want to see it."

She looked worried, but rifled through the bag instead, eventually pulling out a tunic and trouser set, crisp and white, with beading on the hems. "Perfect"

* * *

Bouncing.

The first thought that passed through Hayami's mind was that she was warm, and moving. Was she back on Takayuki's back again?

No, she could hear a heartbeat; slow and comforting against her chest. "Good morning, sleeping beauty"

She could have laughed, and blinking away the headache and confusion that always came with rejoining the land of the living post-fainting, smiled at the familiar jawline above her.

"Jun"

"Don't you smile like that at me, do you realise how much trouble you're in?"

"You didn't look down, how do you know i'm smiling?"

"I can hear it in your voice. Don't think because you're all injured and tired that you're getting out of this"

She could hear the smile in his voice too as she shut her eyes and pressed upwards, playfully kissing his chin.

"Where's Gai?" had she dreamed him...and the others…

"Asking about one man after kissing another? You slut. He's headed off to Suna-a dog arrived and updated him, he wanted to ask another team to go but I insisted they leave, I thought it's what you would have wanted. They're giving backup to Kakashi"

She nodded, glad he'd not given up on his mission-as much as she selfishly wanted him back.

"Where's Hikaru?"

"Out on a mission, as I was. I got an SOS message and started heading to Suna to daringly rescue you, but that Lee kid caught me as I was coming through Konoha from the east"

"And you didn't stop?"

"Pff, of course I didn't stop!"

She grinned, pulling back into sleep by the swaying of his body as he ran through the trees. "That explains the stink then"

"I swear I will drop you"


	26. Chapter 26

This chapter is sponsored by the message "stop reading Klance Voltron fanfiction and write your chapter Hannah"

...also feel free to recommend good voltron fanfiction…

...also I may be drabbling in a Klance one shot…

Just a short one this week; as it felt it would have been jumping around a little too much if i'd have gone into any more sections; and felt natural as it was.

* * *

She'd always been smaller than himself and Hikaru, but watching the medi-nin work, bustling around her in the hospital bed...she looked tiny. The hospital gown was huge on her, and the amount of wires and tubes and needles she was being poked and prodded with...he didn't like it.

They'd taken her from him with almost reverence, and he could sense the continuous passing of his fellow Anbu. After that, everything was a blur-a rush of activity. She'd been stripped, wounds washed as she was inspected from head to toe, the lead medic calling out the injuries and their locations with pinpoint accuracy; along with their treatment.

"Broken arm-looks to have been a healing fracture, splint and chakra healing needed!"

"Broken ribs, three along the left side, stiff bandaging and pain medication"

"Severe exhaustion, malnutrition and signs of regular expelling of food in the throat. Get me fluids and an IV, sedate her"

"Multiple lacerations, both shallow and deep-stitches and gauze"

"Chafing around the neck, scabbing and scarring-get an antiseptic ointment on there to aid with the healing"

He felt every inch the protective older brother.

He knew he was being useless; leaning against the side wall, but didn't want to get in the way more than he likely already was. He refused to leave though; not without her, and they'd given up trying a good 20 minutes ago after he'd chosen to stoically stare at the nurses that attempted to move him.

An assassin's glare is a powerful thing.

Not that he'd actually hurt any of these nurses; not whilst they were helping Hayami. He knew technically he could have taken her to another healer, but she needed to be home after all this time, not waking up in some healers shack or underground base.

He hated how much healing she needed. Her arm and ribs were fractured, she had lacerations both fresh and healing, she was too thin, her breathing was slow and weak...the list only grew as they bustled around her like bees. How she'd battled in this condition...well. She'd always been tenacious growing up, a stubborn perfectionist. He wasn't all that surprised that she'd protected her friends, though the 'in the thick of it' battle style was new.

And training with her neighbour...he was pretty sure he knew who it had come from.

He smiled, remembering the honest relief in the older man as Jun arrived, Hayami's head on his thigh, hands carding through her hair comfortingly. Relief at having Hayami back, or relief at seeing Jun? He guessed a mixture of the two, honestly. Other anbu melted from the shadows, ones he'd grabbed on the way out of town, just in case he needed support. They moved towards the team to grab the civilians and unconscious ninja as he had moved ever so slowly to scoop his unconscious teammate into his arms. She had been ridiculously light, and Gai had mirrored his worried glance with one that said all to clearly 'i know'.

And then a scream reached his ears, and the peaceful memory was snatched from him as he raised his chin from his chest and took in the sight of the previously departed nursing running back into the room. He knew that scream, and moved to rush forwards; halted only by fear as he saw her back arch from the bed, another scream ripped from her lips as the healers tried to pin her down. What had they tried to do?!

He expected to see her opened up, but...the student that had been performing what should have been a simple procedure had only, by the looks of it, attempted to heal the break with her chakra. The others attempted to hold Hayami down, but her feet scrabbled, eyes wide open in panic, and his heart stopped still as he saw smoke begin to leave her mouth, twisting upwards in the air like flames from the mouth of some great beast.

"Stop! Stop!" he screamed, moving forwards and practically ripping the nurse away from her bandaged arm; watching as the chakra's blue mass fizzled out; his sister immediately calming, small whimpers passing through her lips as he took in the shocked room. He turned on the trainee. "What the fuck did you do to her?"

The mentor stepped forwards. "Sir I must ask you to…"

"If you so much as hint I should calm down, I swear to god"

"Sir, please"

"What was that?"

"We...I don't know; we'll need to run extensive tests"

He stood protectively in front of her bed, easily palming a kunai. Whatever that was, it wouldn't be happening again. He took back everything he thought about not harming the nurses. He'd cut through them all if they caused whatever that was to happen again.

The tutor took a step back. "Get Tsunade-sama!"

Damn right...he thought. Get Tsunade Sama.

* * *

Gai held his position as the mass of water rushed towards him, the sharks shape menacing as it formed; rows upon rows of teeth gnashing as it swam through the air. He blocked it, stance low and steady as the water violently sprayed around him. He was soaked to the skin, an uncomfortable cold spreading through his body as the cooling wind bit through his green jumpsuit, overwhelmingly glad it was both unseasonably warm for this time of year and that they were close to the suna border; otherwise he knew was in horrible chance of the cold getting to him much sooner.

He could feel it, the irritating recollection that wouldn't come to the forefront of his mind, of where he'd met this man before. Truthfully he knew it didn't matter, that at the bottom of this unnatural lake, with a ripped jacket and three students in grave danger; the identity of his attacker wasn't his top priority; but it was still annoying.

And then the sharks reappeared. The first two were annoying, knocking him about in the water; threatening to pull the remaining air from his tired lungs. The third...fear coursed through him as it's jaws closed around his torso, and he forced himself to stand and punch into the only available gap in it's layered teeth; the soft sponge of the gum feeling uncomfortably realistic against his charged fist.

It dropped him, only giving him enough time to think for a brief second as another hit into him, causing him to float, disorientated for a second as he fought to not lose himself in the water as he sunk to the bottom

Forcing himself to tread water, to ignore the pain caused by landing so violently against the bottom of the lake, Gai's heart hammered in his chest, the sharks providing an unrelenting onslaught of violent attacks. He hammered each in turn, grimacing as they simply healed, refusing to go down; each bubble of chakra taunting him as it boiled and grew within the water. He could see his students through the murky, moving haze -trapped in their own individual bubbles. He worried for how long they'd be able to hold on, could already see tenten struggling...her lungs forcing air into the environment around her.

They were his priority now, his precious students. He had to ensure they made it out of here, completed their mission safe and unharmed. The young girl reached for her throat, and he knew what he needed to do, letting the forbidden gates open and his true strength reveal itself.

Whoever this enemy was, Gai knew he needed to be defeated before he could harm either of the three youngsters that he cared for so deeply.

* * *

The roof was uncomfortable, digging into the firm flesh of his stomach as he observed the building. He had come to a revelation over the last couple of months, and that was that Hikaru had absolutely no idea, on the entire world, how Hayami did this.

Back in the good ol' days (aka. 9 months ago) he would either simply arrive and kill someone, or for more complex situations like this he would arrive at the location, usually fresh from his last mission. He would then either do an in person handover with Hayami or read some notes left by her or another anbu, and then kill someone.

Occasionally kiss someone. He hoped this would be

But no. No. Over the past couple of months he had to do this himself. He had to lie on rooftops, where shingles or bits of thatch cut into him; or trees where insects bit him or bits of twig dig into him.

And so here he was. The aforementioned roof digging into the aforementioned torso. He had been watching the mark for at least 3 hours now, and getting ready to make his move.

And he had a plan. And it was a bloody good plan.

He shimmied down from the roof, checking his hair in the window reflection and fixing his hair, winking at his own expression before moving into the bar. His mark was in the private booth in the corner, but the marks wife...well she was drinking alone, glancing occasionally up at where her husband was currently working incredibly hard at looking down the top of the woman next to him.

Easy.

He slid in next to her, drink in hand, smiling handsomely. Honestly, was it even possible to be better at his job than him?

* * *

Treading water, Gai's heart hammered in his chest, the sharks providing an unrelenting onslaught of violent attacks. He hammered each in turn, grimacing as they simply healed, refusing to go down; each bubble of chakra taunting him as it boiled and grew within the water. He could see his students through the murky, moving haze -trapped in their own individual bubbles. He worried for how long they'd be able to hold on, could already see tenten struggling...her lungs forcing air into the environment around her.

They were his priority now, his precious students. He had to ensure they made it out of here, completed their mission safe and unharmed. The young girl reached for her throat, and he knew what he needed to do, letting the forbidden gates open and his true strength reveal itself.

Whoever this enemy was, Gai knew he needed to be defeated before he could harm either of the three youngsters that he cared for so deeply.

* * *

Everything was awful. He had received quite the dressing down from the Hokage for his behaviour, who had then forced him from the room to brood behind a window instead. Using her own expert healing chakra, she had very gently begun to work on the young ninja's arm; recoiling in horror as after a couple of seconds the exact same thing happened again. Smoke, thick and shocking, expelled into the air as Hayami's entire arm turned black and she screeched like a possessed demon.

"Interesting"

No. Not interesting. Horrific. Humans shouldn't be able to do that. They should not be able to do that!

She walked calmly from the room, taking in the startled expression on the blond man's face. "I take it that this isn't normal behaviour from Hayami?"

Was she insane. "No! No this is entirely not normal behaviour!"

She nodded, turning to stand next to him and look into the room. "She is from the Ake clan, correct?"

He could only turn to her and gently nod, not entirely sure why she was asking.

She continued to nod as she walked back towards the room. "Don't treat her with chakra. You'll need to do everything the mundane way. Strap the arm tightly, we'll need to regularly feel for the break and check that it's healing and it may need to be pinned"

Jun blanched. "Pinned?"

"Yes, it's quite an alternative treatment. Small pins are screwed into the bone and used to hold it together as it heals-then we remove the pins"

He fell into the chair, looking up at her as if she was the most insane person he'd ever seen.

"This is largely unknown territory, we'll need to work as we go i'm afraid-we'll keep her asleep for a while though as if we have to pin it it'll be rather painful"

He put his head into his hands, not sure how to even comprehend the idea of them screwing pins into her bone.

He needed to send another note to Hikaru.


	27. Chapter 27

Authors Note- Oh my gosh we've reached over 200 followers on and we're so close to 150 Kudos on Ao3!

Have this chapter a day early as i'm so happy we've reached the 200 point on the last chapter :)

Hello to the new subscribers, I really hope you're enjoying the story; and thank you for the lovely reviews-due to the time difference I always receive them when I wake up and it's such a nice way to wake up!

* * *

Just because a plan changes, runs into slightly new territory, and has to be redesigned doesn't mean it's not a plan; Hikaru reminds himself, rolling his wrists. It's just got away from him a little...that's all. But honestly, when a beautiful older woman offers you a very large sum of money to kill a husband you're already hunting for someone else...well it's not a sin to accept.

And when said beautiful woman invites you back to their home with bedroom eyes, well it would be a terrible sin to reject her; especially as it gets you into the territory of the man you're there to kill-fantastic!

And...when she gets out the restraints, it would be a certain sin to not immediately strip down to nothing and pose perfectly on the bed, ready and waiting.

When she walks out and leaves you locked up after the act is done though… well that's what Hikaru considers that his plan _might_ have scampered ever so slightly further away than he'd hoped.

Just slightly.

And without the flush of arousal, lay with a swiftly drying sheen of cool sweat over the hard planes of his naked body...Hikaru is cold.

Cold, and naked, but certainly not afraid.

The silk restraints that were so fun are now just surprisingly tough. What was it she'd said?

"If you can get into the next room in the next ten minutes then the jobs yours"

Right. The job he was already working. He scrunched up his face, already focusing keenly on the prospect of double cash and perhaps seducing a third round from the terribly beautiful and sinfully experienced woman in the adjoining room. Best get out of here.

He rose into a crouch, ignoring the painful burn in his shoulders as his hands were pulled behind him. Tugging, it felt loose, but as he worried he'd lose circulation before the silk ripped, he chose to move backwards instead. He smiled as it loosened, and maneuvered the silk with the very tips of his fingers till he felt the knot. He dropped, rolling himself til his feet were above his head-and using every muscle in his body to lift into a perfect backbend against the wall. His body shook at the exertion as he pulled at the knot blindly with his teeth.

The blindfold, so hot as it had been attached, was mostly now increasingly annoying as he desperately hoped he wasn't tightening the knot.

And he was free.

He crumpled into an incredibly ungrateful heap on the pillows of the bed, rolling onto his back and stretching his arms forwards.

He wondered how many shit assassins had she attempted to hire? Apparently if she thought that was a test then quite a few. He lifted the blindfold, securing it as a headband and strolled through into the next room, letting his pride radiate through his swaggering steps-entirely not caring about his complete nudity.

"Well mistress, I've passed your test. What's my reward?

* * *

The forest was quiet as Neji kept watch, tired eyes resting on the small fire warming the group. They were all relieved to have escaped the battle mostly unscathed, but he couldn't stop the feeling that something was wrong. He'd always been told that he had a tendency towards being morbid; looking at the negatives of the situation, but his mind flashed to the sight of Tenten in that ball of water, final breaths bubbling out and his fists curled.

 _Why did he care so much?_

Obviously they were friends, comrades, teammates, but he cared more about Tenten in that moment than Lee. A lot more. He loved Lee, the strange boy had easily become like a brother to him over the last couple of years; but the heart wrenching concern he'd felt when he'd seen those bubbles...the need to save her, the need to catch her as she fell and the way his heart felt heavier than she in his arms.

Blah.

He loved Lee like a brother. But was also sure he wouldn't have that feeling of startled need and panic if he saw lee gasping out air. He'd be scared, of course, wanting to rescue his friend. But would it be quite so alarming?

And if it was what he was beginning to wonder it was, his pale eyes flicking over to look at her peaceful, sleeping form, propped against the tall tree...he couldn't even imagine how his mentor had felt this last year.

But was it..that? Or was it just friendly concern. He hmmed to himself, prodding at the dancing heat with a stick to his left and watching as small flits of light floated upwards towards the almost full moon. He wished his dad was still here, if only to have someone to talk to.

A small whisper pulled through him though. Perhaps he did have someone to talk to. His gaze shifted to Gai. Good lord no, he could not speak to sensei about this, not if he wanted to survive the conversation with his sanity intact, but…

Perhaps she'd be open to it when they got back to Konoha...if she was alright.

* * *

Jun tapped at the desk, trying to conceal his yawn as he processed the paperwork in front of him. Mission reports, an appraisal to pass to Inoki for improvements in his own work, a report to both Gai and Tsunade to report on the team's progress where he and Hikaru had stepped in in Hayami's absence, and newly added, a housing application for the ragtag group that had gotten Hayami back to the town. Tamiko, Takayuki and Daisuki he knew were staying, and he didn't see Natsuki being too far from Tamiko; but the others he wasn't sure...they were in temporary housing for the moment, regularly being questioned, but couldn't stay in those...glorified hotel rooms for too long.

They'd all visited regularly over the past few days, and Hayami was now sporting a beautiful set of taupe and gold nails courtesy of Tamiko, who visited daily. The room looked...odd; a strange combination of blankets and pillows from home, traditional hospital room stuff, flowers from various guests, paperwork, and the trinkets Tamiko kept delivering. Nail vanishes from Hayami's home, courtesy of Jun, paper flowers and cranes, painstakingly folded; courtesy of Tamiko, Kuso and Chou.

And a large assortment of weapons. He never saw the anbu, but a basket of senbon had rapidly filled, each painstakingly stamped with the konoha symbol, and a small moth. She'd be so choked up when she awoke, he could imagine her blushing, stuttering, shy face now.

He clicked his fingers, memory striking him. He pulled the draw to his right open, groaning at the sight of at least 5 different letter writing stationery kits; perfectly organised by...season?! He grabbed the autumn leaves set, and closed the draw; shutting his eyes for a second before reopening it and making sure the drawer was still neat.

He quickly penned a letter to Inoki, addressing it to her sister's house. He'd promised her an update on Hayami, and needed to write a second note to tell Hikaru not to come to Suna. He could have a scrappy piece of white paper, not this lovely letter headed piece. Whatever safe house his colleague eas in, apparently he hadn't been home in some time. He ticked off a couple of things on his to-do list, also stolen from Hayami's extensive stationery collection (honestly, how can one woman need that many pens, pencils, highlighters, dividers, folders and stickers?"

Ah. Probably a plan to send a note to Suna letting Gai know that she was still in hospital. Only once that was done could he return to the paperwork; it would be irresponsible not to.

He certainly wasn't simply putting it off.

* * *

No.

He refused.

He would not join in.

It didn't matter how much his sensei hummed at him, Neji would only glare back.

He looked to the side. Kakashi was cool, composed, quiet. Everything Neji had ever wanted in a sensei. He looked back to his own sensei, took in the determined set of his jaw, the three hands waiting for his own to land on top.

How in god's name, out of the two men before him, had Gai gotten a girlfriend?

He imagined Hayami refusing to come to bed, annoyed about something or other, and Gai taking this approach, and blanched; wanting to be sick as he couldn't stop the mental image of Gai, strewn across some bed with a rose in his mouth and his signature grin and point, making the same noise he was making now in an attempt to woo Hayami upstairs.

Lovely, quiet, thoughtful, funny Hayami.

 _Why did his brain come up with that image_.

He gave in as the hmming became louder, feeling his eye twitch- if only to start the mission so he'd have something else to think about that wasn't pondering how this man; THIS MAN, made her weak at the knees.

Was that what women looked for in a man?

He glanced at lee as he joined in with Gai's chanting, but thankfully, Tenten looked about as ready to die as he felt.

* * *

Jun saw the telltale wiggle of her nose as she began to regain consciousness; and glanced away from his puzzle and towards the clock.

"Typical" he scoffed, groaning slightly as his stiff limbs lifted him out of the uncomfortable chair that had become his new residence. "Always early"

"Would you have me any other way?" she muttered, voice quiet from lack of use.

"You could be taller I suppose, if I was to choose something for you to change about yourself"

She chuckled, letting him press the buttons on the side of the bed that lifted her into a sitting position. "Really? You get to change one thing about me and it would be that I'm too small?"

"Hmm" he pondered, mattress dipping as he removed his shoes and slid onto the bed next to her. "You're right. Perhaps I'd make it so you had slightly more sense of self-preservation"

He flicked his eyes to the side, taking in the way her eyes were glancing at the sheets.

"Thats right, you better look guilty young lady. What happened to the kunoichi that had no confidence in her own fighting abilities and hid under a chakra blanket? I could count on that Hayami to come home"

"That Hayami was stupid-"

"That Hayami was a world renowned sneak ninja, who saved lives daily by providing crucial intel" He interrupted, glaring down at the puzzle book in his hands

"Stupid to doubt her own abilities- _if_ you'd have let me finish"

He finally smiled, throwing his arm around her and patting a hand on the top of her head; fingers resting on her forehead. "I do believe the two of us had been telling you that for a couple of years now-just, you know, 5 or 6 of them"

"You're my brothers, you have to say those things" she smiled, tilting her head to the side to rest against his muscular shoulder. "He made it back then?"

"How did you know?"

"You'd be happier if he hadn't" she laughed, breaking into a cough as her dry throat finally protested the action.

"Nah, it'd be too quiet" he chuckled, lifting the straw to her mouth.

She sipped, her mouth feeling like a desert. "Who would we bully?"

"Who indeed?"

"Where is he?"

"Mission. Trust me, if he were here I don't think we'd be able to pry him off you; he'd be ugly crying everywhere and snotting all over us"

"And…"

"Lover boy is also still on his mission, should be back any day now"

She blushed deeply. "And Inoki's at her sisters?"

He nodded.

"Jun?"

"Mmm?"

"How long was I out?"

"...About a week"

"And the people I was with?" she asked, feeling horrifically guilty that they hadn't been at the front of her mind when she awoke, with all the trouble they'd taken trying to save her.

"The traitor is with the Anbu, and the others have been put into housing, watched by Anbu"

She glared. "They saved my life, they don't deserve to be watched! Observed like criminals!"

The heart rate monitor beeped rapidly as she became agitated. "Get me out of this bed! Right now blondie, up we get"

He scrambled out of the bed, feet freezing on the tiled floor. "No, Hayami no! Hayami stop trying to get out of bed!"

She batted him away with her good arm. The other...she realised she couldn't feel as she attempted to lift it. Her attention had mostly been on her friend since waking, and she hadn't really thought much of her own condition apart from being tired, and thirsty. She glanced down at it, worried that there would be nothing where it once was. She was thankfully entirely wrong; though also confused as it looked as if there were a small tent around her forearm.

"Jun...why can't I feel my arm?"

Ah. There was the question he'd been hoping to avoid.

"They had to...try something experimental to fix your arm"

She flashed back to the fight, the splitting pain in her arm as she was pushed against the ground, the thick ache that had pulsated through it as she was carried. Why hadn't they...ah.

Why had she been out for a week for some broken ribs and bruises? She already knew the answer.

"They couldn't heal me with chakra could they?"

She shook his head, unable to look her in the eyes.

"W...what happened to you Hayami?"

"Jun, what did they do to my arm?"

A small cough from the door eased the glaring coming from the green haired woman, and she looked up into the eyes of a familiar pig. "Tonton!"

"Get back into bed right now Hayami!"

She moved her legs back into the comfort of the hospital blanket, smiling at the newcomer at the door. The pig was happily placed on her lap, and began pushing it's velvety snout onto her pale cheeks, causing her to giggle and scratch behind it's adorably pink ears.

"Oh, so the pig gets a hello but not myself?!"

"Hello Shizune" she grinned, wrapping her remaining tightly around her friends shoulder.

The brunette wanted to glare, for the worry that been caused, but couldn't. Not as she saw the familiar sight of her friend, laughing whilst cuddling Tonton and couldn't help but think of nights spent researching together, stuffing their faces with curry and wonton, sneaking morsels to the happy pig under the desk. "I missed you Hayami"

"I missed you too"

She leaned back, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Let's get to business"

The two women nodded, and shizune adjusted the drip, quickly changing the empty fluid bag for a new one and reopening the feed. The chart was pulled from it's holder at the foot of the bed and updated with heart rate, blood oxygen levels and temperature. Returning it, she finally made her way to the left side of the bed and lifted the tent over the arm. Hayami shook as she looked down at the metal frame surrounding the limb.

"Hayami, your body has...refused our attempts at traditional healing, creating a reaction we will discuss further at another date, when we're certain of the cause. Your wounds are mostly small, numerous but harmless with rest. We were forced to render you unconscious medically, whilst your body healed itself, aided of course by stitches. Your arm however...the bone split completely, and we didn't want to risk it healing badly and causing you further trouble…"

"What...did you do?"

"We operated, opening your arm up and inspecting the break for bone fragments. Then we aligned the bone properly, and used screws to hold the pieces together. These connect to this protective frame, so you don't knock them on anything"

"Shizune…"

"It's experimental, the team had to work quickly and adapt very old techniques so they'd work without any chakra interference"

"Shizune"

The other woman continued, rambling, as Hayami stared down at the frame. She could see the metal pins jutting from her skin, and had to admit it made her feel more than a little faint.

"Shizune!"

"What?"

"Thankyou"

"What?"

"I've seen Ninja's lose limbs to less...thank you"

"You're welcome" Shizune sighed, checking on the fastenings and screws. "I will be photographing it regularly though, and taking scans"

"Research project?"

"You in?"

"You know I am"

Jun laughed, the two women's starry eyed responses to what sounded like the single most boring activity in the world tickling him endlessly.

"Shizune-sama!"

Hayami smiled, patting her close friend on the arm. "It looks like you're needed elsewhere"

"Always am" She sighed, moving to collect Tonton and leave.

"Leave the pig."

Shizune looked at the tired, injured woman's face; practically hearing the full stop within the sentence.

"Shizune-sama!"

"You heard me."

The young trainee appeared at the door, panting violently. "Shizune-Sama!"

Tonton curled up, and Hayami happily smoothed out the necklace of pearls and red jacket adorning the pig.

"I will be back for her"

"Shi-"

"What?". The annoyance in Shizune's tone was obvious, though she was also obviously trying to stay calm and collected. Could she not be allowed a couple of minutes alone with an old friend? Especially one who everyone had assumed was dead.

"Premature birth on the 3rd floor!"

She smiled back into the room, a slanted half smile. "I best go, be good"

* * *

"Huh? Are you leaving already?" Kankuro asked, "you should stay a little longer…"

Temari's eyebrows furrowed. "At least stay another day, until you've rested up"

The three sand siblings had changed, an action the Konoha ninja's desperately wished they could have partaken in also, but they knew they had to make a swift exit from this mission, which had already taken much longer than expected.

Gai tightened the grip on Kakashi as Naruto and Sakura spoke. "There's something I must report to my Master, the Hokage, immediately" Sakura responded.

"And if the Akatsuki have begun to attack villages…" Kakashi added; watching as the others nodded. "I feel uneasy being away from the leaf village too"

Gai nodded especially at that one. "We have an important person to get back to also"

Only his own team nodded at that one, the others glancing over with confusion. Gai wanted to hit himself-in the confusion, the battles, the aftermath and the heartbreak of losing Chiyo; he'd forgotten to tell Kakashi the good news!

"Not to worry"

Kakashi's words snapped Gai out of his train of thought, and he looked over at his eternal rival, rejoining the forgotten conversation.

"I have comrades I can rely on"

A surge of pride hit Gai at his friend's words, and he pounded a fist against his chest enthusiastically. "Yeah! Leave it to me!"

The group set out, paying their respects at Chiyo's grave before moving into the desert once more, eager for home.

"Sakura, Naruto, it's about time to depart!" Lee shouted to the two, eager to return home, and Gai patted his head lovingly. "Let them pay their respects Lee"

"But Gai-sensei…"

"We're all eager to be back, but a couple of minutes won't cause much delay"

"So I take it Hayami's back safely" Kakashi asked, noting how eager Gai's pupils were to get home.

"We found her on the way to meet you; I was given a note in Suna to say she was in the Hospital"

"Was she seriously injured?"

"No, but Jun said they'd had to sedate her; i've... not told the team yet"

Kakashi hummed in understanding. "Didn't want them to worry?"

"Their days should be bright with the spirit of youth, not darkened by worry as they have been lately"

"And your days?"

Gai quietened as they made ground back to Suna. "They are a little darkened. She's strong though, stronger than she looks!"

Kakashi chuckled. "She'll need to be to keep up with you. I'm sure she's fine Gai"

* * *

"Sensei! You're too slow!" Tenten shouted, pulling a face

Kakashi looked at the determined glare on Gai, apologising. The man obviously hadn't imagined this would be his pace through the desert.

"When I use that new Sharingan, it takes a toll on my body for quite a while…"

"Hurry!"

Kakashi's face dropped again. Did Gai's team go nowhere slow? Did they run everywhere? He looked to the side again. Honestly if we wasn't the one to have caused it, the look on his friends face would have him laughing his ass off.

Oh god what was happening.

Why…

What…

W…

He was on Gai's back. He knew he shouldn't have expected less, that their quiet conversation earlier wouldn't have dimmed Gai's explosive personality, and he was too weak to fight back right now; instead letting his arms flop forwards to rest on the backpack now housed on Gai's front

He could hear it, hear the glint in Gai's voice as he exclaimed about speed and set off at a nauseatingly fast pace, laughing and teasing the others to keep up. At this pace, they'd be home well within the three days. Most likely in a day and a half

He had to admit though, it was nice to see Gai on top form once more.

Tenten laughed as Neji refused to mount Lee in a similar fashion.

"You teased him too much Tenten" Neji grumbled, looking at the pace their sensei, and now Lee, had set for the already tired group.

"He's just eager to get back to Hayami" she argued. "As am I! Let's go Neji!"

"Who's Hayami?" Naruto asked, he and Sakura quickly catching up with the two brunettes.

"Gai's girlfriend" Tenten laughed.

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed "She's back alright?"

"We rescued her on the way here. Gai swooped in like prince charming-it was so romantic"

The two girls sighed happily, but naruto was having none of their enjoyable conversation.

"Bushy brows has a girlfriend?!"

He stopped dead in his tracks, imagining bushy brows sensei, but with boobs. The face, the hair-no different. Lee joined the duo, the three making a strange, tall, buff, green clad family. Oh god he thought he was going to vomit.

He caught up with Sakura, "Ne, Sakura-you've met her?"

"I have" she replied.

"What's she like?"

Sakura laughed, imagining the strange lakeside evening she'd spent with the group; seeing the two of them pop up from the river; Gai holding Hayami happily. "She's perfect for him-they're adorable together"

He heaved slightly at the recurring mental image of the three green jumpsuit-clad muscular taijutsu masters.

"Oh god Naruto, whatever you're imagining, I don't want to know!"

* * *

A mass hit the bed, then another. Then a third. Whatever Tamiko was doing...Hayami was too tired right now to care. Her arm hurt, her ribs hurt, the nurses were having to figure out the ratios of the pain killers now she was awake so she didn't vomit constantly; her internal...changes playing havoc with her metabolism.

"Lee! Be careful!"

"Tenten, move over!"

"I'm tired, let me lay down"

"If you lay down, there's no room for the rest of us"

"Neji, just go sit in the chair. Or stand awkwardly over there, you're good at that"

"No Neji ignore her, don't get up and stand awkwardly in the corner!"

"When Gai-sensei get's back where is he gonna sit?"

"The chair you idiot!"

"Rest your feet on me Tenten, I can massage them if they're sore"

"Ew, Lee! No, don't...oh okay actually yeah I can get behind that"

...This wasn't Tamiko, obviously. By now she'd have moved the other two lumps from the end of the bed and resumed her embroidery. These lumps however, were loud, loveable lumps.

"If there's foot rubs, I'm next in line" she requested, voice croaky from sleep.

"Hayami!" they called out in unison.

"I wasn't expecting you all back til tomorrow"

"Gai set the pace" Tenten laughed, and Hayami smiled back, accepting Neji's help to sit up.

"Where is he?" Hayami asked, trying and failing to keep the disappointed tone from her voice.

"He is upstairs briefing the Hokage, he sent us down first to see you" Lee responded, "I'm so happy you're okay Hayami!". Tears were in his eyes as he jumped off the bed and threw his arms around her. She pressed her face against his. "I've missed you all so much"

She could feel tears in her eyes as they hugged her, telling her how much they'd all missed her, but the dam burst when the always booming laugh she had thought about so much came from the door, and her tears fell down her face in thick globules. Tenten had returned to the end of the bed, tucking herself and Neji into one of the many blankets Tamiko kept bringing. Lee had stayed at her side, sat on the mattress, but slid off as Gai approached from the doorway.

She tried to lift herself up more, hating how weak she still was, and he was at her side in a shot, squatting to encircle her small frame in his arms. She was glad she was clean this time as she pressed against him, not minding at all that he wasn't. He smelt like training, like the flack jacket he always wore, like the sand of the desert. She wanted to kiss him, but with his students around...She flushed bright red, causing Tenten to snort with laughter.

"You're like genins I swear!"

She shuffled over, giving Gai room to get onto the bed, but she shook his head. "I've just carried Kakashi from Suna, you don't want me any closer than this"

"Inviting him into your bed in front of us Hayami, shameful" Tenten teased.

"What. No, n...no I"

"Ahh" she smiled, leaning back and prodding Lee with her foot once more. "I've missed this"

Hayami looked up at the beaming face of Gai, who had energetically sat back in the bedside chair.

"How was the mission?"

The team had left in dribs and drabs, the dramatic retelling of the mission obviously layering onto their already tired frames. Gai himself had nodded off at one point, being waken when Jun chose to instead sit on top of the other man, rather than ask him to move.

But they'd all left, apart from Gai, who she'd quietly spoken to on and off in between conversations with others and the team's tactical naps.

He finally moved up next to her, and she smiled, leaning into him. "I thought about this you know" she admitted, working up the nerve.

"Being sat in a hospital bed with an arm full of screws and five broken ribs?"

She laughed, wincing at the tightness in her chest as she did so, and elbowed him with her good arm. "No. Being back with you"

"Don't leave like that again"

"Only if you promise not to either"

"I'm a ninja Hayami, every mission could be my last; though I'll train extra hard to try and keep this oath to you!"

She reached a hand up, covering his thumbs up and intertwining his fingers with her own.

"It'll be an easier promise for me i'm afraid. I imagine Neji's already told you about my chakra"

"We'll do everything we can to help you" he replied, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"Thank you Gai" she smiled, tilting her head upwards to catch his retreating lips with her own.


	28. Chapter 28

Authors note-

I love writing the idiot trio, aka Jun, Hikaru and Hayami. They make me smile endlessly. I'm going to be adding more content into previous chapters to address some holes I can see in the story, and to lengthen and pad some of the very short earlier chapters. It shouldn't be content that you'll need to go back and reread, unless you want to :)

Most of you are from the US, a place that as a brit I find pretty fascinating-whereabouts are you all from? I'm in the north of england, which is basically winterfell from game of thrones but with constant daily rain instead of snow. We never get snow.

Also a reminder, i'm on twitter as Oraeliaa (or pilsbury doughboy [dont ask xD]) and I do post sometimes about the story, art, updates ect. Also photos of where I live, if historic english cities are your thing 3

Thank you to Mikomi and a guest for their reviews on , and to Ginacrash on Ao3!

* * *

Hikaru crouched, hands pressed against the traditionally built manor behind him. He had hoped to go straight from the wife's rooms to the husband's study, kill him, back to wife, get the money, then home. Simple.

But no. They're _seperated_ and live in different sections of the home, so it was out the window for ol' Hikaru.

He so he finds himself, crouched on a pond, pressed against a wall, with the first flutterings of winter surrounding him, biting icy cold into his exposed shoulders. He inched forwards, pulling his hood higher and tightening the black face covering; needing to ensure that his bright red hair was truly out of sight. He hated moving north at this time of year, it was so much colder than Konoha...

Two guards had passed now, though he hadn't seen them for at least 10 minutes, and this compound was at least a 30 minute round walk at the lazy pace those two had been doing. He could hear giggles as he approached the window, and sighed.

Wait for whoever he was with to leave, or kill them both?

He didn't like killing people he wasn't contracted for, but then again the temptation to get out of this...outdoors and back to his cosy warm safehouse was strong. He would light a fire, pull out the blankets, perhaps read one of the many books Hayami kept stored there.

Perhaps she'd left the one about the viking maiden…

A smirk hit his perfectly formed lips. The girl read a _lot_ of romance for someone not getting any.

He kept to the shadows, pulling himself up the wall using chakra imbued hands and feet, and peaked into the window.

 _Oh my_

Hikaru barely contained the laugh that threatened to erupt as he witnessed the man he'd been sent to kill, and a room of men and women dressed as...he looked closer. Yes. Definitely. Mythical creatures. Oh what he'd give for a camera.

He moved further up the wall, tucking himself into the jut of the roof above. Best let the bloke enjoy his last moments on earth before he died. And reaching for the pouch at his side; Hikaru knew just how to do it.

He pulled a handful of coloured vials from his pocket, feeling the bumps at the tip of each to determine its contents. Each poison was different, some caused sleep then death, some nausea then death, some sweating...then death.

But the one he wanted, that caused mania and then death.

This man would seriously go out with a bang.

He waited until the giggles changed to something much more familiar, then gave them a good half hour more for good measure; taking the time to ensure his blowdart was coated securely; fitting it into the pipe. He crawled down the wall like an ant, gently opening the window just enough to line up the slim end of his pipe, and angled it straight towards the flabby, exposed buttock of the target.

He grimaced, the things he went through to be the best.

Breathing in through his nose, he quickly exhaled through his mouth, smiling as the man slapped at his own rear with a startled gasp. And then collapsed on top of the Mermaid, screaming nonsense. They crowded around him as he laughed maniacally, then could only watch as he turned towards the very window Hikaru swiftly ensured he was out of the way of; ran at it, and burst through the glass, plummeting swiftly towards his death five stories below, flapping his arms like a large; sweaty bird.

A dragon looked upwards towards the roof, but neither it or the unicorn that copied it could see him, ducked back into his dark alcove, covered for extra measure by a chakra cloth.

God he loved that poison.

He waited for the others to go, then slid back down, strolling through the now empty room like a wraith; absently taking in the discarded costumes. He paused, bending at the knee into a crouch and stuffed one of the costumes into his small bag.

He ensured he wasn't seen as he made his way back to the mistresses quarters, slipping into her room and waiting for the fake crying to cease on the other side of the door.

She finally stepped through, wiping the demure, but entirely false look of shock and mourning off her handsome face. "I see you completed your task"

"I did indeed"

"I hear he went crazy from the guilt of cheating on me and lept from a window"

"It was a magnificent sight, I can promise you that-and the poison only lasts minutes, so noone will suspect foul play" he smirked.

"And the dart?"

"Pure glass, likely crushed in the panic"

She handed him a large bag of coins, which he happily put into his bag alongside the pilfered costume. He bowed, and when she turned again, he was gone.

Honestly, he wondered as he all but skipped back to his safehouse- was there truly anyone better at his job than he?

A beautiful woman, a hilarious story to tell, a fantastic kill, no chance of him being traced. He'd truly earnt his money today. He thought back to the exploits of earlier in the night as he opened the complicated series of locks on the door. My god the things she'd taught…

Nothing kills that train of thought like walking into your house and seeing your partially elderly mentor.

He quickly straightened his posture, giving her a formal hello before they grinned at each other, and he was on her like a shot, arms around her diminished but still toned frame, enjoying the hug he received in return.

"Good mission?"

"The best, you wouldnt believe what I saw…"

"Hikaru, judging by the look on your face when you entered, do I want to know the story?"

"Oh yeah" he waggled his eyebrows as he hulked a kettle onto the stove. "You do!"

Ten minutes later and the pair are wheezing with laughter into their hot honey drinks.

"Hikaru, that woman had you in a compromising position-she could have easily killed you, you're lucky she was on your side, child"

He groans, throwing a piece of bread at her from his seat opposite. "Inoki-sensei, what's life without a little thrill!"

She gives him a stern look, thinking back to the marks she'd briefly seen before needing to leave Konoha; only planning to be there for a day to change and repack her bags. She'd hated leaving Hayami, practically her daughter, like that, but an appointment was an appointment. "Why don't you ask Hayami?"

Hikaru startles, looking at her with heartbroken eyes. "Why would you bring…"

Months, it'd taken him to feel normal again, to feel like he wasn't guilty all of the time. He could feel it creeping back in now, pricking like the snow from before on the corner of his eyes. He couldn't help but feel confused as Inoki-sensei only smiled warmly, leaning over to the table to grab a letter and pass it over.

"Perhaps, if you returned to the safehouse instead of warming a strange woman's bed, you would read your post"

He ripped open the envelope, briefly confused by the tea marked piece of paper inside, which had obviously at one time been used as it had entirely separate words on the back that made little sense. Inoki laughed, a barking noise. "Turn it over child, apparently Jun didnt feel you were worth actual stationary"

"He never had much taste" Hikaru retorted, unable to hide the happy creasing at his eyes at Jun's antics. The blonde was due a good prank when he returned home. The letter was short, and to the point.

'Start reading your bloody post. Ignore all previous letters, don't go to Suna. Hayami is in the hospital here in Konoha, but will be discharged soon. Get your ass home"

He grinned up at Inoki, who was already finishing her drink and moving to collect her pack. "He's a man of many words, isnt he?"

"I have discovered over the years that you more than compensate"

"You're damn right there!" he agreed, grabbing his pack. "She's really fine then?"

"About as fine as she can be I suppose. Skinny, bruised, scarred"

"Due a hot springs trip then?"

"I think we could all do with some family time Hikaru. When she's healed up, we'll go. Perhaps invite her new friends"

"You know how shy she is! She'll probably pass out if he comes into the spring in just a towel"

Inoki chuckled at the image of a red faced Hayami sinking further into the water.

"I think she'd like us to include them though"

"Inoki…"

"Mmm?"

"I don't think normal teams go into shared hot springs together?"

"Most teams probably have a sensei that doesn't have to watch her three students like hawks"

"Hey! I strongly disagree with that statement" he pouted

"...You were tied to a bed less than 24 hours ago"

He huffed, sticking out his tongue as he dropped the pack and shrugged into a warm jacket, helping Inoki into hers. "Well that's just the sign of a good weekend"

She chuckled, and the two grinned at each other.

"So…"

"If this is more information about your bedroom antics I can safely reiterate that I don't need that sort of information"

"No! I was going to ask after your sister"

Inoki smiled fondly. "She's well. Her health has vastly improved from my last trip"

"And the family?"

"A new grandchild, a boy"

"Oh I bet he's adorable! When Hayami's able we'll have to head over there and meet him, take some gifts"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "I can only hope for a grandchild of my own before I'm dead"

He choked on a piece of trail mix he'd been happily shoving into his mouth. "Shut up you old bat you've got years in you yet"

She chuckled, and they ran through the snow for a couple of minutes, stopping only to harvest some particularly juicy winter berries. Depositing the fruits into her pack, Inoki turned to her student, a sly smile on her face

"Anyway, the way you spend your time Hikaru I likely have a couple of grandchildren dotted around by now"

He paused by his own bush, hands squeezing the berries til his glove was stained purple. "Oh god you've never said anything more terrifying to me"

"Even more tha…"

"Even more than _that_ "

* * *

Noise was the first thing that came to Jun earlier that morning, clanging and voices from downstairs. He turned, groaning into the pillow-honestly couldn't Hikaru have a _little_ more respect, or just regard for the fact it's early, rather than just throwing his pack by the door, stomping through the house and making breakfast with what sounds like the _entire_ contents of Hayami's pan drawer.

"Fantastic, you're awake!"

Jun screamed in fright at the sudden voice, centimeters from his face. Then desperately reached for the covers that he'd apparently kicked off in the night in an attempt to cover his nakedness.

"Gai why are you in my house?!" seriously...did Hikaru send him up?

Another clang from downstairs, and Gai's eyebrows furrowed, before shooting up to match his blinding smile. "Ahh, fantastic timing! Is Hikaru home?"

Wait...if Gai was up here, and didn't know that Hikaru was down there… "Gai how did you get in?"

The man didn't even look ashamed or shy as he gave Jun a thumbs up, and happily enthused "I came in through Hayami's window!"

Silence fell through the house. "Hayami's? You often climb in through her window Gai?"

"I used to do it quite regularly, yes!"

Jun began getting out of the bed, not caring any more that he was naked, just that this grown man had thought it was appropriate to climb through his _sister's_ window. Had she? Had they?

"Gai!". Jun hadn't even noticed Hikaru thundering up the stairs til he was in the doorway.

"Hikaru!"

The two posed, pointing finger guns at each other. "How was your mission?"

"It was great, I can't wait to tell you the crazy thing I saw-" The redhead trailed off, finally taking in Jun's murderous expression as he stood next to the bed. "Jun why are you naked? I'm sorry mate, I don't think Gai swings that way"

"Are you aware Hikaru, that Gai enters the house by climbing in through Hayami's window?"

"Yeah, why?"

"And you don't think there's anything wrong with that?"

"I've done it more than a few times myself you know. Not...not _Hayami's_ window, obviously, but...Anyway, it's not like he was sitting in the window frame watching her sleep or anything, his bedroom's next to hers, easier than going all the way downstairs. She didn't mind, it made her feel like a roguish teenager whose love interest climbed up the guttering to sneak in, like in those soppy film…" he trailed off, taking in the sheer look of disbelief on Jun's face.

"And she told you all this, when, in the dungeon?"

"No I read her diary"

Jun sat back on the bed, head in his hands. "Gai-why are you glad i'm awake?"

"Hayami's back today, and we need to make sure everything's perfect!"

He nodded, gesturing for someone, _anyone_ to throw him the long robe on the back of the door. Slipping it over his arms and fastening it at the waist, he looked at the two idiots stood at the foot of his bed. "Both of you get out".

* * *

Hayami couldn't stop the grin, and frankly didn't want to.

Two weeks.

Two weeks in this room, not allowed to leave the bed unless she was going to the bathroom, and she was only allowed that privilege after begging Shizune, and proving she could stand.

Rationally she knew it was closer to three, that she'd been asleep for a week, then spent a week half conscious on the pain medication, then a week getting strong enough to finally lift herself out of the bed and pad across to the toilet on bambi legs.

Still, two conscious weeks. It didn't matter that she'd had Gai come through every day out of the last 7; bringing lively conversation and often the trio. It didn't matter that Jun came through twice a day with new books and puzzles to occupy her mind, or that Tamiko came through every morning with breakfast and her stitching. She smiled, remembering the day Takayuki came through to visit, shyly waiting at the door (well two visits technically, but the first she'd been so groggy on painkillers she'd apparently simply made frog noises at him for an hour).

But still, freedom.

Cool air hit her as she began stripping off the hospital robe, Tamiko picking something she'd created out of the large bag.

"So I had a look through your wardrobe, and I know I've already said this twice but _honestly_ Hayami, it's a good thing i've dressed you for the last year, hopefully some of my style has rubbed off on you"

Hayami raised an eyebrow at the younger girl, "what's wrong with my style?"

"You own no less than 8 pairs of black cropped trousers! No-one needs 8 pairs!"

"They're comfortable, and they look nice!"

Both women looked up as a snort could be heard from the doorway, and Hayami beamed as Kurenai entered, moving forwards quickly to swoop her friend into a hug.

"I'm sorry Hayami, i've been on a mission"

"It's alright, did it go well?"

"I'm still standing here aren't I? I'd say how long you in here for but it looks like you're breaking out today"

"Yeah, god I was going insane. Finally got Zune to let me loose early"

"Yeah, ran into her in the corridor-she knows you're not gonna be stupid or hurt yourself"

Hayami laughed. She'd certainly been given strict instructions from a very tense Shizune.

"Anyway, who are you kid?"

Tamiko turned, shocked at being asked. She would never get used to that... "I'm Tamiko"

Kurenai nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "I was with Hayami in Satoru's camp. I made sure she was presentable for the master". Hayami placed an arm on Tamiko's shoulder, softly laughing.. "Tam, you're free here. You can look up and talk to my friends. I'm not some visiting noblewoman". She'd noticed it a couple of times over the last 2 weeks; the girls bubbly personality dimming when strangers that knew Hayami came in. it had taken a couple of days to truly recognise the behaviour. In the camp, Tamiko had known everyone, had been in the position of social strength. But here, she reverted back to subservient behaviour that Hayami refused to allow.

Tamiko looked up, giving her a awkward smile, and Hayami grinned in return. "I give Tam. What have you got for me?"

"Well... Obviously we need to accommodate for the club hand there"

Hayami snorted with laughter, gesturing for her friend to continue.

"I've taken one of your dresses that was obviously unworn, shoved in the back"

Hayami blanched, thinking about the boxes of underwear also thrown in the back, that her 'friends' kept buying her, unused and forgotten. Her eyes nervously met Kurenai, who was grinning with serious malicious intent. "Kid, did you notice any…"

"Kurenai, don't interrupt Tamiko. Very rude"

The brunette looked between the two, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before continuing "the fabric was lovely, very soft, but it was hideous. Ive shortened it, taken off the left arm entirely, and opened the left chest seam and added a lovely series of buckle fastens. The left side, as you can see, is just a single strap, but that has a button so you don't have to get the cage through the gap"

Hayami stared. She remembered the dress, a shapeless, hideous item she'd picked up to layer with other things but never ended up using. Now however, it was beautiful. She let Tamiko help her undress fully, and slipped the dress on, remembering happily that the soft fabric was the reason she'd been drawn to it in the first place. It went on easily, with no reason to remove the white sling at all.

"Damn...Hayami you got kidnapped and came back with a stylist-kid this dress is good"

"Thankyou"

"Recon you could make me something nice?"

Hayami smirked, a reflection of Kurenai's earlier expression. "Perhaps a nice date dress to see Asu-"

"Hayami, don't interrupt. Very rude"

"I um. Might have gotten carried away" Tamiko blushed, moving past her confusion at the two's antics.

"...what have you made?" she queried, thinking back to the beautifully embossed boots sitting in a bag in her hallway that Tamiko had designed...for a break out.

"Well, two things...I may have created a couple of tops and jumpers and dresses, thinking hey, they'll be pretty stylish even without the...additions. And i've brought you a scarf to cover your neck, like you asked. Gai gave it to me! But, then I thought, why pair a pretty dress with an ugly sling, right?"

"I can't get rid of the sling, Tam" Hayami chuckled, rolling her eyes. This was like the hair thing all over again.

Tamiko snorted. "No! but we can put this over the top!"

Was that? Hayami snorted again; stepping forwards and resting her head on the taller girl's shoulder. "I can't believe you made me a decorative sling cover"

"You can't?"

"No, I'm lying, I entirely can"

"And i'm serious Tamiko, I want one of these" Kurenai added, fastening the side buckles on the dress.

The young girl remained calm, nodding. "You should see what I can do with embroidery"


	29. Chapter 29

**Authors note- thank you to lizyeh2000, Mikomi121, Lysa, Tsubahime and Arjunabali for the reviews on the last chapter! I'm making really good headway on getting chapters prepped for Long game, and i've got 3 chapters on the go for Collided, my Loki story, so i'm excited for that! I've got a lot of changes to make to the background, the lore and the characters-i'm going to try and give it the in-depthness that this story is reaching in the early chapters, so it's taking a lot more planning than otherwise.**

* * *

The roads were familiar but different as Hayami passed through them, Tamiko and Kurenai at her sides. It was colder than the year before, and she pulled the woolen jacket tighter around herself. She wasn't certain whether it was just unseasonably warm the year before, when she'd been jumping into rivers to escape the heat, or she'd simply been affected by living in the scorching desert for so long. All she knew was that she was in a woolen jacket, Tamiko in a coat and gloves, and Kurenai in a light dress.

It was a good thing she loved heat, all things considered…

"Isn't that right Hayami?" She zoned back into her friends conversation, and smiled. Kurenai seemed quite taken with the girl. "Hmm?"

"Tamiko was just asking about the winter festival. I was saying it's in a couple of months, and that we go every year and eat enough takoyaki to kill a man"

She laughed. "We do. Though this year I was thinking about going all out, wearing a Kimono and maybe asking Gai if he wanted to join us..." she petered off. She'd clicked quickly with Shizune upon deciding to relocate permanently to the village, and Kurenai not long after; and they'd always gone to the festival as a trio; only inviting Jun or Hikaru if they were back in town. It felt like she was betraying them suggesting a change...

"Don't you want to go as a date?" Kurenai asked

Ah. And there was the issue. "I...I... um... don't think I'm strong enough for that" she blushed; causing Tamiko to giggle behind them.

"You two have hung out alone before, haven't you?" her older friend asked; pushing her black hair out of the way, exasperated.

She stopped, throwing her remaining hand in the air as she spun to face the others. "Of course, but it wasn't a date! There's too much pressure in a date…"

"You will remain single for the rest of your life. It's official. You will never procreate. You will live your life longingly staring at him"

Tamiko stated at Kurenai, her mouth forming a small 'o'

"Kurenai!"

"Stop whining. You're a ninja. You face true dangers. You've just endured a year in a desert slave camp"

"There wasn't really that much to endu-"

"You are going to get that brace off. You are going to put on the underwear you keep hidden in the back of your wardrobe"

Tamiko's voice was a whisper behind them. "Oh, that's what was in the boxes…"

"This wonderfully stylish young woman is going to put you in a lovely kimono, you are going to have adorable hair and make-up"

" **Yes** " Tamiko gasped

"And then you are going to take that incredibly enthusiastic man into your bedroom so he can show you how incredibly enthusiastic he is"

Tamiko practically skipped over, taking the incredibly red Hayami's hand and dragging her after Kurenai, who had simply winked at her mortified friend and strode ahead. Tamiko's fingers laced with Hayami's. "Oh I'm so excited, I always loved it when noblewomen stayed who wore kimono!". Hayami had to admit that she didn't hate the idea, a small flutter of excitement bubbling through her. She accepted the knowing grin from Kurenai as they fell parallel with her. "You're mean"

"You need it though"

"Shut up"

"You should wear the black ones, they'd look good against your skin tone"

Hayami was silent for a while, contemplating. "The lace ones?" she gulped

Her friend hummed to herself as they finally reached the house. "Perhaps the turquoise satin on second thought, I think he'd die of shock if you went with the lace"

She snorted, her heart lifting as she finally set eyes on her house. She couldn't wait to sit on her sofa with a nice cup of orange blossom tea and a film.

As they entered the house however, the familiar weight of the door feeling like the best remedy she'd had all fortnight, she realised her friends had other plans. Generally speaking, of all the things hayami considered would be waiting for her, this was only third on the list. The house was filled with people, and she barely had time to think before her face was buried in a familiar chest. "Hikaru!". She wrapped her good arm around him, angling herself so her sling wasnt digging into his chest, and held him tight.

"You're alive!"

"I'm alive" she laughed

"You're walking"

"I can also sit. And drink. And talk"

"Jun! A drink for Hayami!"

"Have you already been dri-"

"She cant have alco-"

"A persimmon syrup drink, for Hayami!"

The blonde's eye rolling was practically audible as he left them embracing in the hallway. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders, steering her into the room. "Kurenai, Tamiko, come this way!"

"Hikaru, don't think I didn't see that wink"

"What wink?"

"She's a _child_ Hikaru"

"No...she's at least 19 isn't she?"

"Hikaru, Tamiko is not 19"

He blanched, kissing her head. "Thankyou"

"You're welcome, you pervert. Anyway, what about Shizune? She's an appropriate age, and a wonderful person"

"For Jun maybe" he replied, pointing out the two chatting in the kitchen, a slight blush on their faces as he poured her a drink. "Although Ami, speaking of love…" he span her, pushing her forwards.

"Hayami!"

She held out a hand at the redheads retreating form, watching him wander merrily into the kitchen, taking far too much enjoyment from coughing and interrupting the conversation happening there. She turned, desperately trying to contain the blush. Why did she have such a lack of control over her own face?

"Gai, thank you for the scarf"

"It was the least I could do!"

"I-"

Hayami laughed as her name was called again, cutting her off. She turned, relieved to see Daisuki, Kuso and Chou. She smiled shyly, happily accepting a hair ruffle from Daisuki. "I'd like you all to meet" she turned, but Gai was gone.

"He darted away as you turned to say hi"

She sighed softly. "Of course he did, he's probably gone to help Hikaru in the kitchen. I'll introduce you when he's back. Where's Takayuki and Natsuki?"

"With the Hokage's team. They should be back later, but they've been giving information and identifying clients and such" Chou answered, sipping a beer happily. "So" he gestured wildly into the air "he your boyfriend?"

She smiled, and the men smiled at the lingering blush on her freckled face. "Yeah, he is"

"Some boyfriend, wandering off and leaving you"

"Kuso!" Daisuki admonished, smacking the younger man on the back of the head. He looked down, ashamed; but Hayami was mainly just confused, she'd not seen Kuso act that way even once. She stored it away, but glossed over for now. "How have you all been settling into town? You were just moving into the house when you last visited"

"It's going well, i'm glad we decided to live together, all of us...turns out only Nat, Daisuki and Tam know how to cook more than meat so we're a little at their mercy at the moment, but we've got a little garden and we've been learning the town slowly" Chou replied, more relaxed than she'd ever seen him.

Hayami nodded, they'd all lived together, surrounded by people for so long that she imagined their initial lives in Konoha, seperated into two person apartments, was strange to them. Her face shifted though as she realised what else had been said, shifting her attention to Kuso and Chou. "Neither of you know how to cook?"

"We can cook meat on a fire, but nah, the food was always made for us in camp"

Hayami laughed, truly laughed at the idea of the three men surrounding a pot of food, terror in their eyes. "You're not helping the stereotypes there boys! What about Takayuki, he wasn't raised in the camp!"

"He was a nobleman's son" Kuso laughed

"OH"

"Yeah, so he had servants before he came to camp"

Hayami spotted Shizune walking towards her purposefully, a furrow in her brow that always meant she'd had a bad day. "Right, i'm going to have to go see what's wrong with my friend, but what do you say next week I come by with some ingredients, and show you two how to cook a couple of things?"

The two lit up "Curry!"

She smiled. "Consider it done"

She moved towards Shizune, out of range by the time Chou mirrored Daisuki's earlier action, slapping Kuso on the head. "What are you thinking man? You can't just say stuff like that!"

"He just left her though"

"In the middle of her own house"

"Still-she's injured, and…"

"He left a trained Kunoichi, who probably knows at least 30 different ways to kill you, alone with the people who rescued her, in her own home" Chou laughed, pointing out the various decorative weaponry attached to the walls.

"She's happy, isn't that the most important thing Kuso?" Dai asked softly, patting the younger man's arm

"Well. I. I mean _yes_ but. Huh. Anyway, i'm keeping an eye on him, no sane man wears that much green…"

* * *

"Shizune, you okay?" Hayami asked, gently removing the drink from her friends hand and guiding her towards the sofa. Looking up, she could see Inoki and Gai chatting in the kitchen, and couldn't help the surge of warmth at the familiarity there. They'd obviously spent time chatting before, their body language was comfortable, without a shred of awkwardness.

"No"

Hayami perched on the arm, tucking her sock covered feet into the gap between the cushions and the arm. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No…"

Hayami merely nodded, sipping her own, entirely non alcoholic drink and watching her friends mull around her, enraptured by their small conversations. Just a few more moments of silence, and if she knew Shizune at all...which she did...then…

"It's just"

Ah. There we go. She nodded encouragingly.

"Tsunade-sama never listens to me. They're hunting Naruto and she's still sending him out; and then I went to the elders for backup and she got really annoyed and it went wrong; it wasn't supposed to go that way!"

Hayami nodded, not having a clue what her friend was talking about. Who was Naruto? Who was hunting Naruto?. She didnt need to ask, Shizune clocking the confused look on her face

"He's the Jinchuriki kid, and the Akatsuki are hunting him, but Tsunade-sama keeps putting him at risk, sending them out on missions!"

Ahh, now Hayami could nod. She'd encountered the Akatsuki numerous times over the last year; and remembered seeing the yellow haired kid running around when she was younger.

"And you went to the elders?"

"I was concerned! I only had the village in mind! But they were awful to her, condescending and then they brought in Danzo…"

The two grimaced together

"And he was his usual lovely self...and then she yelled at me"

Hayami had to be honest. "You did go behind her back"

"I'm an awful advisor!" she wailed, ugly tears slipping down her face. Okay...Hayami stood her up, gently taking the drink away and passing it to a shocked looking Lee, who made way in turn for a very concerned Kurenai. "Yo, Gai just grabbed me. You alright Shizune?"

Their friend merely hiccuped. They took her through into the garden, Hayami shivering as the cool autumn air bit into her exposed skin. Her arm throbbed, and she was aware she was due painkillers soon…That were in her bag in the front room...joy.

They sat Shizune down on the small wall, bare feet toying with the grass, and let her simply cry it out, telling her it'd be fine, and nothing would happen, and that everyone would be okay, and that surely, after all these years Tsunade-sama would understand and forgive her. Finally she dozed off on Kurenai, who laughed, waving gently to Asuma, who wandered out, Gai in tow.

Asuma smirked, happily lighting up now he was outside, clocking the multiple looks of death as he placed one in his mouth within the house. "Fun welcome home party Hayami?"

She held in laughter, not wanting to wake their friend. "You know it"

"Let's get her home Asuma". Her friend hugged her, red eyes warm. "Seriously, ask him" she whispered into her ears, and winked again as she left, letting Asuma lift Shizune into the air and heading out through the garden gate. Gai moved forwards, unzipping his flak jacket and laying it over her shoulders. "I'm sorry that you ended up out here"

"I'm not. It's kind of lovely to have everything feel normal, you know. Sitting out here with a drunk, emotional Shizune was kind of perfect, in it's own strange way-made me feel like nothing was different"

He nodded, sitting down next to her, resting his hand over hers and kicking his feet forwards, staring out at the garden. They sat like that for some time, listening to the sounds of chatter and music from inside; of insects and the wind rustling browning leaves outside. The jacket was warm on her back, and smelled so much like _him_ that Hayami couldn't help but feel completely at ease.

"I got in trouble, with Jun"

Hayami laughed, turning to look at him, curiosity in her eyes. "Did he overreact or did you do something wrong?"

"A little of both" he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I wanted today to be perfect. The garden trimmed and nice, the house tidy, new little soaps in the bathrooms"

"The welcome home Hayami sign?"

"Lee's idea"

"He's so lovely…" her words drifted, face soft. Her world had grown so much over the last 2 years… "so what happened?"

"Jun does **not** approve of me coming through your bedroom window"

Hayami laughed, truly laughed, loudly into the cool air. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. "That's amazing. Honestly. Everything going on and he's concerned for my virtue!"

Gai's cheeks warmed as realisation dawned-her words sinking in; and it clicked why Jun had been so mad. "I'll have to assure him my virtue is very much intact, honestly!". His eyes widened at the mention of...that. Obviously, he'd _thought_ about it...but hearing the words coming from her mouth...He hadn't even realised what it would look like, entering her bedroom so casually! Her **bedroom!** He quickly changed the subject.

"You three really are more like siblings, aren't you? I can't imagine Neji getting annoyed if it were Tenten in your shoes"

"...You can't?" she giggled, "but yes; the longer it was just the four of us on the road, with no family outside of the team...we're closer than most teams; that's for certain"

"They look out for you like brothers, tease you like most siblings i've seen. Worry like family"

She went quiet, mulling over his words. She shouldn't have told them to leave her be, she should have escaped sooner, been colder towards the others in the camp; been less curious and worried… "I'm sorry...for making you all worry. Gai blanched, they'd been having a lovely conversation and now she was staring at her toes, intertwined with the grass. "No, you don't need to be sorry; I wish my students were as close as you"

"You'll have to take them away from all civilisation and hope for the best then, I'm afraid"

He scoffed, imagining the woman he'd been getting along well with managing these three, alone, for so many years. Hearing her talk about the three with so much affection in her tone…

He looked up at the moon, smiling. "Oh! I have something for you"

Her eyes flitted up to his determined face, quickly looking away and attempting to appear nonchalant "Mmm?"

He pulled a small box from his pocket, thin and long, and passed it over. She smiled shyly, and his heart stopped at the warmth in her look as she accepted the gift, opening the box with curiosity. She gasped his name, fingers shaking slightly as she pulled the item out with reverence. Glancing over, she could see that his forehead protector was the same piece of metal, but that the strap around his torso was obviously new...and in her hands? A new protector, but fastened onto his strap, the small marks and repairs giving it away instantly. "I thought you'd like it...You suit the scarf, but I thought this might...you probably want a new one. It's thick enough to act as a scarf, or to wear on your waist…"

She didn't know what to say. She unwound the scarf, and passed the protector to Gai, pulling her hair away from her neck so he could fasten it around the back. As he'd expected, the thick, long fabric wound around her neck multiple times, forming a scarf like piece. "It's lucky" he explained. "I've had it with me for all of my successful missions, it's as much a part of the great green beast as I am"

She could hear the uncertainty in his tone, and caught his fingers, smiling up at him. "It's perfect Gai, I love it. I don't...feel like a true ninja at the moment, but having this back means the world to me; the absolute world"

Their fingers found one another again in the darkness, and she moved in towards him, scarf wrapped back around his own neck as her new protector kept her warm from the chill.

* * *

Waking up in her own bed, Hayami at first felt...peaceful. If it weren't for the general nausea she hadn't been able to shake in weeks, the uncomfortable pain of the frame on her wrist or the dull ache from her cuts and bruises; well she could almost forget any of it ever happened. She had to get up though, the heavy, plush duvet quickly beginning to feel as if it were choking her; the soft mattress swallowing her and making her feel trapped.

Every night sleeping in the tent she dreamed of being back here. Every time her cot vanished and she had to sleep directly on the floor, or they travelled through the night and she was stuck trying to get comfortable in the small cage, thoughts of this bed had kept her sane. But now she was in it...it was too comfortable. Too confining and weighted. The longer she lay there, the heavier and more stifled she felt, and she eventually groaned, throwing the covers off and sliding out into the cold air; praying that her legs would have more strength than the day before.

Nothing had changed in here, only the scattered sheets showing she'd been in the room at all. Her belongings were, at first glance, still perfectly in order, but if she paid careful attention she could see the slight rotation of the items, as if they'd been lifted and returned, one by one. She stretched her feet out, curling her toes until they clicked against the wooden floor; and began walking towards the bathroom, small shivers running through her from the temperature change-so opposite to the oppressive heat usually she woke up in. She glanced back at the bed, taking a few steps forwards again, but couldn't continue, turning and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

She should really make the bed.

But she also needed to shower…

But she couldn't leave it like that, it wasn't even neat...

But was there any point, the bedding would be ruined from sleeping in it in the state she was in...it was the same sheets she'd left on, and she couldn't stand the thought of sleeping in year old sheets for another night. She groaned, moving forwards once more and fiddling with the buttons on the quilt, stripping it and balling it up on the floor at her feet, quickly following with the pillows and bottom sheet; holding it to her face and smelling, surprised that it didn't smell musty at all.

A chuckle from behind her. "What the hell are you doing?"

She bit her lip, turning towards the door. "Just. you know. Laundry"

Jun put his head in his hands. "You have been missing for a year, and returned in such a state you had to spend a week unconscious, then 2 weeks in hospital. You're telling me, that the first thing you do in your first full day in your own home is _laundry"_

"I...um…"

"Well move over and let me help, before you wake Hikaru up and this takes three times as long. You know we put that bedding on fresh yesterday morning"

"You did?"

"Why would you think we hadn't?"

"it' s the same bedding that was on when I left…"

"How do you remember that?" he asked, throwing a pillow at her to be recovered with the clean bedding.

She began to redress it, glaring at it as she struggled with one arm. "How do you not?"

"Because we have normal brains" Hikaru laughed from the doorway, moving forwards to take the pillow of Hayami, muttering that she was even more useless than he was.

"Oh god, we woke him up"

"I was asleep on the sofa you dicks, i've been up since Inoki left this morning"

"Where's she gone?"

"Meeting with the hokage, she said you were to join her once you were up and showered"

Hayami paused, glancing down at the bandages that were left on her side, her arm...and the cage. "Right. Shower. I can figure this out"

Hikaru looked away, fussing with the pillows. She'd noticed the night before that his glances often fell to her injuries, or well, what remained of them; but that he'd look away if anyone came near. She looked at Jun, nodding her head slightly towards the redhead. He grimaced. "Hikaru, why don't you put the kettle on downstairs and shove some toast in, and i'll help you with the bandages, okay Ams?". She nodded, grateful as Hikaru wandered downstairs, giving the two a tight smile. The blonde held a finger to his lips and pointed towards the bathroom, letting Hayami lead the way. She sat herself down on the closed lid of the toilet, and put her head in her hand. "It's guilt, isnt it?"

"I recon so, yeah"

"But it wasn't his fault!" she whispered aggressively, "To tell you the truth I still haven't figured out whether they realised who I was after I came to rescue him or whether it was some grand plan from the beginning but either way-he didn't cause this"

"He blamed himself for being weak, for being injured, for being stupid enough to get double-crossed"

"Hey-I was tricked too"

"His words, not mine...i'm glad though, you know, that you told us to leave you be. He'd gotten obsessive about finding you-dragging out all these old maps and spending any time he had between missions trying to find any trace of you. It was only after you told us to go away that he started coming back to himself…" he sighed, deft hands helping her remove the pajama top so he could get to the bandages helping support her healing ribs. He felt along the faded, bruised surface lightly, feeling the bones beneath.

"You know Ame, you've lost too much weight"

"I know, as my...chakra overwhelmed me it just made me nauseous all the time" she replied, holding the old bandages as he removed them

He frowned, going silent as he worked, inspecting the healing of the bruises and cleaning any stitched patches he came across gently with the cotton bud. He paused at a deep bruise along her side, the impact point split and stitched. "How...how did this one happen?"

"Do you want to know?"

"I need to know Hayame. You're...you're my sister and I need to know what happened out there. You worried us all"

"There's a lot to tell, and I'll be honest I don't know how to explain a lot of it"

"Start with this one then" he sighed, brushing his finger across her upper arm. "These lines- I know a accidental wound when I see one, and this...wasn't accidental"

She paused, the words heavy. 'Just...think of it as a report' she told herself, swallowing heavily before continuing. "I was tasked with researching a kekkei genkei he believed I possessed...each cut is for a week I failed to produce results"

No jokes, no teasing. Just quiet, as he surveyed her, bare feet resting on the toilet edge- knees pulled up under her chin. He could count her ribs, and was glad in that moment that her hair covered her neck, still bandaged. It had been infected, and she had strong antibiotics to help her heal; but he'd seen the collar next to her on the ground, was glad he hadn't seen it in person.

"And did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Produce results? Pain is a powerful motivator; but he obviously didn't know you well enough to know you'd have worked on it diligently anyway"

She held up a hand, concentrating for a minute on the power that stirred beneath the surface; feeling so much like chakra but...harder to grasp and control. Her nails darkened first, then her fingertips. In battle it had come so naturally, but here she really had to concentrate to turn her entire hand black.

"I...in the battle, I could control it better. I turned it into a weapon that extended outwards, and stabbed one of them with it"

Jun whistled, turning her hand curiously and moving away. "Right, you're done. Get yourself and your weird black hand into the shower. When you're strong enough; and I mean that Hayami- you have to rest-we'll work on developing your new ability. Inoki-sensei or one of her old friends likely know something about it- you know the size of some of their libraries"

She nodded, rolling her shoulders as she stood. Her pain killers were starting to kick in, and the pain in her pinned limb numbed. Jun stopped at the door, turning back as she began to undress further. "Be honest, will you be alright showering yourself? I've heard about your little fainting spell with Gai and really don't want to come in here to you naked and sprawled out on the floor"

"Go away" she laughed, "I'll call you if I go faint; and I can't believe he told you about that!"

Jun grinned in return "He didn't, Tenten did"


	30. Chapter 30

Authors note- I cant believe we're at chapter 30! I've got a clear plan in place as to where I want to take this, and I think where I want it to end, so that's good. Enjoy the fluff people, enjoy the fluff- before plot begins afresh!

I'm making really good progress on my Loki story, it's much bigger and quite a bit different than it was, though I hope it'll still have the same feel as before :D

* * *

It felt good to be walking alone, it was something she'd missed greatly whilst away; being able to simply be alone with her thoughts and the space around her. She was thankful for the thick jumper that her slinged arm was currently just...tucked within. Hayami wanted to say the three of them were intelligent, poised people, but honestly; they'd stared at the jumper for a solid ten minutes before just giving up attempting to put on the special piece and pulling it on. It had so many buttons...so many.

She'd spent so long constantly followed, surrounded and confined, that she felt she could spend all day just wandering the streets of Konoha, enjoying the cool breeze on her face and watching the lush landscape beginning to turn to autumn. She'd not realised just how much she'd missed nature till she'd returned, after so long in the harsh, arid landscape of the desert.

It was over too soon though, as she hit the doors to the Hokage tower, and steeled herself as she always did before entering. If both Tsunade and Inoki wanted to see her, it was obviously important. The two had been friends for years, Inoki was quite close with their trio, and imagined the two had been trying to figure out what was going on with her body since she arrived back in town. Her legs burned as she moved up the stairs, still weak from lack of use and a year without proper exercise, but she kept her face straight, smiling at fellow ninja that she passed; each giving her the respect of a nod, of ignoring the slight slow of her pace or her tucked arm as they left her to her walk. She collected her errant breaths at the doorway, letting her heart rate calm and telling herself she would need to start running again as soon as possible, even if she likely had to do it at a regular human pace.

"Come in Hayami" Tsunade called from within, and she let herself move into the room, smiling warmly at the two older kunoichi, who had abandoned the desk for the table, scattered with books and scrolls. "I think we need to have a frank discussion, and hopefully answer a couple of questions"

Hayami nodded, moving to sit on one of the cushions.

"Firstly, what did their leader, the man who infiltrated us, tell you?"

"Dog, Satoru, was largely disjointed. His story didn't change, per sey, but it did evolve and tangent; almost as if he was developing it as time passed... He told me that my uncle worked for him, that as an Ake he had a bloodline ability that allowed him to control shadow, and that he wanted the same from me. He went on to call us family, but I think that was a manipulation technique more than anything"

The two women nodded, pointing out passages aste younger woman spoke. "And you awoke this ability?" Inoki asked, her tone business but her face concerned.

"I did, though only in small part if the scrolls he possessed were anything to go by. It was obvious also how misinformed he was, it's not like the Nara ability, more like smoke or darkness itself". She did the same thing she'd done with Jun, focusing her attention to her hand. It was easier than this morning, but the discomfort was real and she hissed as her limb drained of colour, replaced by eerie blackness. She slowed her breathing, and focused, feeling the shadow wrap around her wrist, tendrils smoking out from the skin into the air.

Tsunade spoke first. "Enough"

She allowed it to recede, shaking her hand and accepting a cloth to wipe her brow.

"There are things that I chose not to tell you Hayami" Inoki continued, "I didn't think they were important, that they were necessary...and for that" she paused, pushing the loose hair from her face with both hands, and Hayami clocked the dark circles under her wrinkled eyes "I'm truly sorry"

It made sense now. They'd spoken briefly at the party, but Inoki had been gone the entire time she was in the hospital...Hayami understood why Hikaru felt the need to feel guilty, but Inoki...what on earth could she have omitted?

Tsunade patted her friend on the shoulder as she stood, fetching the water and cups from the table- letting Hayami comfort the older woman in relative privacy, telling her that whatever reasons she had, she was her sensei and she trusted her. Tsunade waited and then sat, pouring the three water. "The Ake clan" Inoki began "had a bloodline ability that the city outlawed, when you were a child"

"Outlawed?"

Tsunade explained. "You see Hayami...many clans have bloodline traits, or abilities, that you'd never know about. The Ake clan used to be large, and prosperous. Not as large as the hyuuga, by any stretch, but at least Aburame or Nara sized"

"But...there aren't any other Ake" she muttered, confused. She'd had a couple of relatives, sure-but hadn't seen them in years, and even then there weren't enough for a clan!

"No, there are, tucked away in other cities, or somewhere remote, we're not certain. When you were around 2; Konoha began looking at the bloodline ability of the clan, after a number of children had died"

Hayami's breath caught in her throat, and Inoki continued from Tsunade. "There are bloodline abilities Hayami, that occur naturally. There are abilities that must be trained, and then there are abilities that need to be...encouraged. For an Uchiha, the sharingan first appears at a time of great stress. For the nara clan, it needs to be trained...For the Ake clan, the child's emerging chakra must be suppressed, so the bloodline ability can form it's own pathways throughout the body"

"The collar" hayami muttered, fingers moving to touch gently at her covered neck. "He was suppressing my chakra"

"He was, yes. We believe your uncle told him how the bloodline ability was formed, and when he passed Satoru sought out another member of the clan to fill his void. The problem wasn't only the pain the practice brought upon the children, but also that not all children were strong enough to withstand the chakra sickness it caused. Many were overwhelmed, poisoned, and died. When the practice was outlawed it brought great shame on the remaining, untested children. Many left the town to continue the practice outside of our jurisdiction. Others, your parents included, chose to remain and work"

"And live with the disappointment and shame the child brought in their clan's eyes" Hayami finished, remembering the brief flashes of memory she had of her distant, cold parents, of being rejected by the few family members she had after their death.

"Clan traditions are a strange thing...I didn't want you to feel lesser. So never told you" Inoki admitted.

"So, my parents had no chakra either?" Hayami asked Tsunade, moving to hold Inoki's hand tight over the table.

"We believe that your chakra exists within the smoke, but the clan records were locked tight, sealed. They were an incredibly secretive clan; and I'm afraid I dont have the answers" Tsunade replied. "We will continue to research, but for now...try and train with the ability you have, treat it like chakra"

Hayami nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling her notebook. "Here's what I have from the camp, but I don't know how much of it is real, how much is faked, and how much is pure conjecture…"

* * *

It was dark and quiet as Gai, Lee, Tenten and Neji wandered home, the four deciding to get miso broth after training and ending up relaxing for nearly an hour, savouring the steaming liquids heat as they walked through the village centre.

Yakiniku-Q smelt amazing as they passed it, and he fondly remembered the night the two of them had enjoyed slightly too much beer and bbq. He remembered how often he had to tell himself that night that they were just friends, that she only thought of him as a friend, to stop thinking about holding her hand over the small table. Looking back, if he'd have known her feelings matched his own that could have been a very different evening…

"Gai sensei, why are you blushing?"

He laughed loudly, and the inquisitive girl laughed in response. "You were thinking naughty things about Hayami, weren't you" she joked, hand thrown over her forehead in mock outrage.

He went more red, and the group laughed together. "Do we need to give you the talk sensei?" Neji teased, causing the older man to splutter out "no- I'm a grown man!"

"Sensei...I need some advice" Lee began; interrupting the teasing. Tenten and Neji glanced at each other, eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. What in gods name were they about to witness?

Gai seemed happy though, throwing an arm around lee's shoulder. "Yes my sparkling student?"

Lee's face took on a determined look, and Neji looked to the side to see Tenten biting her lip to avoid laughing, hands tight on her hips. "How did you ask Hayami to be your girlfriend?"

The older man laughed, throwing his head back. "Lee, my boy, are you considering asking Sakura-chan once more?"

"Yes! But it never works!"

Gai crossed his arms, nodding wisely. "Well, when I asked Haya…" He froze in his tracks, exaggerated shock on his face. Tenten snorted, elbowing Neji. "I bet you a ramen they finally just jumped on each other"

Neji was silent, "You're on"

Lee mirrored the expression, practically shouting "you didn't ask her?" at his doppleganger.

"OOOOH!" Gai screamed, startling both birds off neighboring roofs and passersby's, who glanced at the four before scurrying away. "I have to rectify this!" he continued, punching the air with his free hand.

"Sensei you really don't have…" Tenten tried to interrupt, but their teacher was already pacing, shouting 'Yosh!" into the night air.

"I need to see her!"

"No, Gai-sensei; you're not 12…"

"I'll go now! Thank you Lee!"

Tenten couldn't stop the mortified laughter from her lips, and grabbed him, getting his attention. "Sensei!"

"yes Tenten?"

She sighed, defeated. "Just...ask her to dinner"

He nodded and ran; and Lee saluted to the two remaining students before taking off down the street himself.

"Dress differently!" she shouted at his retreating form.

Neji chuckled softly, gesturing for his female friend to lead the way. "My money's on him still asking her"

She paused; groaning as she pressed her palm against her forehead. "I'm not taking _that_ bet Hyuuga"

Showered, and dressed in loose fitting trousers and top and a casual haori jacket, Gai happily knocked on her door a few minutes later. A bright red mop of hair greeted him, it's accompanying face grinning and covered in coloured mud.

"Maito! Don't you look nice"

"And you look very interesting!" he retorted, laughing

"Keeps me looking young" the younger man joked, leaning against the doorway and winking.

Gai's laughing faltered, and he looked the younger man up and down. "Is that Hayami's dressing down?"

"A keen eye, indeed it is. Would you like to join us? We've got enough mix and god knows the woman has enough robes"

He laughed, giving an enthusiastic hello to a similarly dressed Jun "Another time! Is she in?"

"Do you think I'd be in the good robe if she was? She'd skin me alive! She's at work"

"But…" he queried, brows furrowed as he gestured to the nighttime surrounding them.

"Don't, since Tsunade gave her a room to work from a couple of days ago we've barely seen her. In fact, your jogs with her in the morning probably mean you see her more than us, currently" Jun explained from his position at the kitchen table, surrounded by knives and sharpening blocks.

"Yeah" Hikaru continued, "She's not dealing with this as well as she's letting on, but she's not someone that can stay still for too long, and as long as she's eating and sleeping properly and not training properly til the medics say she can this is truly better than her being home bored, trust us"

Gai nodded, worry lacing his features.

"She's reorganised the linen cupboard 6 times Gai. 6. We threw her back to work like eager parents on a particularly annoying child's first day back at school" Hikaru bemoaned.

Jun hummed from behind them, lightly tapping a kunai against his chin. "She probably won't have eaten yet though, probably forgot"

He smiled, bowing to the two men and rushing from the house. Hikaru followed him out, waving.

"Anbu offices! Hokage tower!"

"Yosh!"

"Jun?" Hikaru began, returning to the warmth of the house and unmuting the tv.

"mm?"

"I like him!"

* * *

Hayami turned, holding in a yawn as a knock roused her from her thinking. Gai's heart leapt at the genuine smile that graced her face, soft and gentle and entirely reaching her eyes. How on earth had he ended up in this position. Much like that meal out, she was dressed casually, one of her small brunette friends creations, a loose, flowing white top with one long sleeve; and tight black trousers, the only difference that her hair was loose-a change he'd enjoyed since she returned. He felt a surge of affection as he saw the forehead protector around her neck, a slight peak of bandage beneath. His brain flitted back to the sight of the metal collar, and the mess it created on her beautiful neck once he'd pulled it off...if he could help her feel less self-conscious in even one small way, it was worth losing his lucky belt. He was ashamed though, at the slight possessive happiness it brought him also. He refused to allow her to feel confined ever again.

"H...hello" she stuttered, giving him a small wave

"It's late, I thought I'd bring you some dinner" he grinned, holding up the bag of food.

She blushed deeply "Gai, that's so lovely! Come in, come in!"

She hurried to the table, and he smiled at the sight of her shoes neatly placed by the door, and the fluffy socks that didn't quite meet the trousers. She very carefully stacked the papers, moving them to the working table, and he took the takeout containers out of the bag, placing two in front of him.

"I got curry. I hope that's alright; I got one spicy and one extra spicy, just in case" he was an idiot. He should have got bbq, he knew she loved bbq…

"Can I have the extra spicy? It's my favourite"

Any nerves he had evaporated at that simple phrase. It was like she was made for him. "It's mine too!"

"Oh...you can have it then, dont worry. Their normal spicy is still amazing, and have you had the curry udon from Ichiraku? It's even better than the bbq pork..." she drifted off, blushing bright red as she realised she was rambling. She wanted to kick herself, she was such an idiot. Every time she was around him it felt like her foot just lived in her mouth.

"It's yours" he insisted, pushing the carton towards her. He wanted to kiss her so badly, eyes flitting to her plump, perfect lips; but knew he had a mission to undertake, and that she'd likely explode from shyness if he just landed one on her unprepared.

"I...thankyou'

He moved to pull a chair next to him but she had already hopped onto the desk, crossing her legs and tucking into the curry. He was mesmerized by the tiny, neat mouthfuls, the way she always took a perfect amount of curry and rice, and the happy little noises she made when encountering a particularly large piece of Tofu would be worth never having the extra spicy again.

"I'm surprised Tamiko didn't tip you off about this particular favourite" she laughed.

"Hmm?"

"We ate a lot of stew, porridge and such, in the camp- as you can imagine. She quickly learned that I can basically live on curry and glutinous rice; especially if it's got coconut milk in it. Inoki practically raised us on spicy food, all three of us are nuts about it"

"Yeah? I love treating the team to curry-they used to have mild, but love the spiciest ones now"

"That's adorable…" she paused for a second, and the intense stare she gave the food worried him, nerves eating as his gut as she opened her mouth. "As I started getting ill, I couldn't keep much down, and I had no appetite, so she started lacing all my food with chilli, knowing how much I loved it. I started having rice porridge for half my meals and curry, or spicy hotpot for the other half. Lord knows the favours she had to pull to get that much chilli..."

"Favours?"

"Well most people there were...owned by Satoru, or their wage was minimal, their board and food removed from it. So everyone worked in favours. I would write a letter for a mercenary and in return they'd bring me paper for my notes, without the requisition needing to go through Satoru" Or bring her blankets and hot drinks to keep the chill off when they travelled, and she was forced to stay curled up in her cage...the words sat, heavy on her tongue, and she felt a small amount of panic at the idea of being back in that tiny container, curled up and sore, on show...

"Ingenious!"

"Well I am rather genius" she joked, glad that his enthusiasm had snapped her out of the spiral she was travelling down; then tapering off when she realised what she was saying; worrying he'd find her boastful. "I mean Tamiko…"

"No. You are brilliant. Look around you Hayami. No-one else would come back from that kind of situation and begin working to this scale. The information you've stored over the last year will save so many lives, both ninja and civilian"

She blushed, tucking her knees upwards and hiding her blush behind them. "Thankyou. And thank you for not pitying me. I'm sick of that. I feel like I can really talk about it with you..." But not everything. Not yet.

"Hayami?"

"Mmhmm" She hummed, stuffing another lot of the delicious food into her mouth

"I know you are youthful and spirited and brilliant. But be honest; how are you getting on?"

She was silent, studying the weave of her trousers for a while before speaking, dropping her knees so her feet dangled over the edge of the table. His chair screamed as he moved across, and she groaned with happiness as large, warm hands enveloped her permanently cold feet.

"You don't have to…" he said gently, trying to ignore what that happy groan had done to him in such personal moment. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go.

"No, I meant it Gai-I feel like I can talk to you. I'm...not doing amazingly, but also not terribly"

"Go on?"

"I'm...it's going to sound ridiculous"

He was silent, and she worried at her lip. "My bed is too soft"

"I slept in a cot, or on the floor...or often in my... cage" her voice caught, and he squeezed her feet tenderly. She breathed deeply before continuing "when we travelled. My bed feels like it's eating me"

"Why don't you sleep on the floor? On a tatami instead of a bed; until you get used to it" he suggested, his heart catching alongside her speech as she said the word 'cage'. She obviously didn't want to talk about it though, and he didn't bring it up.

"That's a fantastic idea" she said softly. "I'll buy one tomo-"

He brightened, cutting her off "You can sleep in mine!"

She looked up, startled, and his hands tensed on her feet, involuntarily this time. He coughed. "It would be an honour to bring it round to your house tomorrow"

She sagged a little; feeling a little saddened by his deflection. "Oh. I...thank you Gai. Shall I ask Hikaru to come help you bring it round?"

He stood, stretching his hands upwards before turning and posing, causing her to snort with laughter. "I am more than capable of carrying it myself!". He grinned more at her laughter, at the tears in the corner of her eyes, and was so happy at the sight of her, truly smiling on the desk top. Her laughing died out, and she looked at him, standing in the centre of the room. "What are you smiling at?"

"You!"

She blushed, and he returned to her side, unable to resist kissing her this time; enjoying the lingering taste of the curry between them. "You know Hayami" he said, between kisses. "I didn't realise how much I loved your laugh until it was gone. I know I can be ridiculous at times, but you're one of the only people that's never made me feel like I should try and be less than myself". The kiss deepened at his words, and he couldn't help but pull her towards him, conscious of the bump of her sling between them but wanting to be as close as possible. He raised a knee to the desk, the feeling of her tongue against his and her gentle moan cutting off any thoughts of why he was there in the first place; his mind swimming with the image of her truly laughing with him; enjoying him truly being himself.

Until a cough, increasing in volume, breaks them from their stupor. They turn towards the noise, blushing like teens caught at school after hours; towards the visage of an anbu.

"Rabbit!" Hayami squeaked.

"Please... vacate my office. I'm glad you're okay but no mooning over each other on my desk. I don't even allow people to eat in here so consider yourselves lucky okay? You're only getting that much because you saved our lives"

Gai laughed loudly, apologising, and offering penance; which Rabbit sternly ignored, poking them out of the room with her sheathed Katana. They burst into the open street, laughing loudly the moment they were free, and Gai quickly shouldered hayami's bags. "I can...I know i've only got one arm but…"

"I am Konoha's Green Beast! The least I can do is carry your bags!"

She huffed, knowing once he had his mind set on something there was zero chance of him letting her get her own way. She glanced up at his hands, gripping onto the straps of her research bags, and couldn't help but pout. Even if she had a bag they wouldn't be able to hold hands though, she reminded herself as they walked, tightening her jacket to try and keep the chill out. "Gai, can I?" she asked, gesturing to the bag; and he nodded, opening it to her. She rummaged quickly, triumphantly pulling out a bobble hat, which was rapidly thrust onto her head.

He smiled. "Better?"

"Better"

He couldn't stop glancing at her, masses of green hair tumbling out of a black bobble hat, the cutest fluffy thing stuck to the top that had to be half the size of her head.

"Hayami?"

"Mmm?"

"I came here tonight, to...discuss something with you"

She stopped, looking up at him with confusion.

"I wished to discuss...my intentions towards you"

She simply stared at him, unsure what on earth he was saying. Finally, she settled with "What...are your intentions?"

"Hayami, when I first saw you, I honestly don't remember. But when I first met you, and got to know you, I thought you were very cute, and full of youthful spirit. And I couldn't stop thinking about you"

She swallowed the blush threatening to take over her.

"Then you led the mission, and I was intrigued, and impressed. To admit a weakness so readily; it was a spirited and honest move my students needed! Even the best ninja have weaknesses!"

"I just remember kicking myself, I was trying to impress you"

"You don't need to try to impress me. Hayami, I would very much like it if you would be my partner"

"Partner?"

He grinned down at her. "My girlfriend!"

She could only nod as her entire face went pink. Had she not been his girlfriend until now?

"Hayami, If I fail to make you feel equally spirited and filled with youthful valour I will do as many laps of Konoha as you dictate, in any way you dictate it"

She nodded, tucking her arm into the crook of his elbow. "I don't think you're going to have to do that penalty Gai"


	31. Chapter 31

Authors note!

Thank you so much for the fave's and reviews on the last chapter, I hope you enjoy this one!

I've gotten a good 25000 words done for Collided, and i'm going to get 7 chapters done and checked over before I start updating there. Once i've got to that point i'm going to start adding sections into previous chapters of this story to improve the quality of the earlier chapters and make sure the characters are a little more developed. I think we need to see Hayami in action more in the early chapters so it's more understandable how much trouble she's having coming to terms with the loss of her abilities.

* * *

 _The corridor was dark as Hayami sprinted through it, one of three unwanted visitors to the distant manor house that night. Her chakra silencing her steps, she was almost a ghost, hidden in smoke and dressed entirely in black. She lept over a slumped staff member; they'd sedated them en masse before dinner, and simply waited for the telltale thumps of bodies hitting the floor before beginning their descent into the house._

 _The corridors were maze-like, but she knew the way, oh she'd planned every step of this mission meticulously, taking pride in her work as always and ensuring every possibility was safeguarded against. Sleeping tablets in the servants dinner; sleeping darts in the security staff's neck. Nerve gas in the corridors to catch any who they could have possibly missed._

 _She was glad for the gas now, her mask filtering the air as she ran - it would not only cover her own form as she moved through the ancient house but also halt any possible interruptions._

 _She lunged as she reached her location, smoothly kicking in the door and darting across the abandoned wood. Her blood rushed through her veins, but her heart rate was stable. She had nothing to fear here, and her system was trained to stop any unruly adrenalin rushes. Meditation was key, and she was the master of her own psyche._

 _The room was large, ornate. As one would expect from a noblewoman as rich as she._

 _Movement_

 _She evaluated the situation, clocking the open windows and the material hastily stuffed under the door. It looked to have once belonged to some grand gown...the woman was desperate, and either had help or was far smarter than Hayami had given her credit for. She approached the opposite door slowly, confidently, knocking twice; as if she'd come for a polite tea and not to assassinate this target._

" _Please, leave me alone, i'll give you anything you want"_

 _Her emotion flickered, but Inoki's words flooded her mind. "They will try and entice you, or to bribe you, or to pander to your base emotions of kindness and sympathy, but you must steel yourself. Know that they are lies, and that you're simply here to do a job. I don't take cases lightly, not anymore...we're exterminators, problem solvers for our town. If we've been sent, it's because something awful has been committed. Steel yourself"_

" _Are you eldest Lady Yokoyama?"_

" _I have guards in here! You don't stand a chance!"_

 _Hayami sighed, tightening the already perfectly tied straps on her sandals before slamming the heel of her foot into the door once, twice._

 _On the third hit the side splintered, and she sent a shadow clone into the room, ducking herself behind the doorframe. The signature twang of a crossbow echoed around the chamber, and embedded itself in the wall behind her shadow clones head; but she knew now, as the shadow clone vanished, that the lady was not alone._

 _She dipped into her poisoned pouch, prepped earlier with a paralysing agent; and pulled four senbon, sliding them into her gloves as a distant scream echoed from the house. Excellent, one of the three targets was exterminated._

 _Breathing deeply through her nose, she squashed any rise of adrenalyn and darted into the room, taking out the first guard before he'd even registered her presence; the senbon deeply embedded into the soft tissue of his neck. He gasped before hitting the ground, but Hayami was faster, slamming an elbow into his nose and rolling over him to the second guard. His fists flew for her, but she ducked, putting her full force into his solar plexus, winding him. He didn't have time to process the foot that gracefully arched through the air, making a sickening crunch as it impacted against the side of his face. The noblewoman, who was definitely the eldest of the three Lady Yokoyama's they were here to kill tonight, scurried backwards, dress snagging and ripping as she caught it on the rough wooden floor._

 _There were no snide remarks, no taunting, no cheesy lines as Hayami threw the remaining three senbon, hitting perfectly in a line down her forehead, nose and throat. Blood wept from the wound, staining the once pristine white nightdress as the assassin activated her ear piece and signalling in that the target had been eliminated._

 _The room was silent. Hayami bent, pulling the bracelet from the woman's limp wrist and turning it in the shaft of moonlight that illuminated the room. Perfect, it matched the description they'd been given of the jewellry all three targets wore; and would serve as evidence - since apparently three dead bodies wasn't quite enough._

 _She had almost left the room when she heard the whimper, and turned, pivoting on one foot within the window frame. The centre of the room was largely occupied by an overly grandiose bed; and her heart stopped as the moonlight illuminated a pair of eyes beneath it. She held still, silent as a whisper as a child, no older than 4 crawled out, chubby hands desperately patting the deceased woman._

" _Mama?"_

Hayami bolted awake, coughing and ripping the covers off, running to the bathroom to be sick. Whilst nightmares had plagued her often recently, and she'd been regularly running to the bathroom like this from both the dreams and the pain medication...It had been many years since she'd been plagued with that one. She flushed and stood, moving to the sink and running the tap til it was icy; dousing her face til her heart rate settled. She had too much to do today to dwell on dreams, no matter how much they affected her.

She'd left that manor house that night with tears tracking down her face beneath the mask. The others had been waiting and they made it all the way to camp before she broke down, ripping off the mask and just staring at the fire.

She'd told them that night that she was done. She'd do all the information gathering they required, would kill if they attacked first, but wouldn't assassinate again.

* * *

It was difficult not to be nervous as Hayami sat in the waiting area, foot tapping impatiently. She'd never been someone's reference before, ninja didn't exactly come with an employment history; but here she was. She'd dressed smartly, in an outfit of Tamiko's creation; a simple Chinese style dress with no sleeves, a smokey grey that looked lovely against her skin, adorned with white buttons and piping. She assumed she was to also be a demonstration of skill, as well as a character witness. She nibbled at the nails of her free hand, wishing they'd just asked her to write a letter instead of this fuss.

No, she needed to grow up and handle this like a woman. She nodded hello as she was gestured into a back room, where a tall, large woman was waiting in the most impeccably pressed kimono.

Breathe in, breathe out.

'Get a grip Hayami' she told herself 'this isn't even your interview!"

"Good morning Miss Ake" the woman stood, bowing respectfully, an action that Hayami eagerly mirrored. "My name is Madame Yan, and I run this establishment. Your friend Tamiko has applied for a position as a seamstress and I've called you here to put my mind at ease as to whether she's a smart investment"

Hayami nodded, fiddling with the fabric at her knees.

"Well, is she? She has no employment history to speak of, no previous companies I can call on to provide a description of her work"

"Oh" that made sense, they couldn't exactly call Satoru for a quick background check could they? "Tamiko designed, created and put together my clothes for quite some time recently. Everything I was placed in was impeccably tailored and fit the brief her boss had of her"

 _To make me look like a pretty ornament to be gazed at by his guests_ she mentally laughed, forcing her face to remain smiling - but not crazy

"So she has worked before?"

"Yes, of course. She was my dresser for some time, and dressed many...others...before me"

"Fantastic Miss Ake! Would you be so kind as to pass their contact details across?"

"Unfortunately I cannot"

"And may I enquire as to why? Would they likely refuse the request?"

"No! No" she all but shouted, hating this entire situation "It's not a reflection upon her work, but on the...establishment"

"Which was?"

"Tamiko was...an...well. She was sold to her employer, if you…" her words trailed off. She had likely just broken her friends trust in a severe way, but knew how desperate Tamiko was to have independance of her own.

"I see…"

"She created this dress!" Hayami interjected, knowing by now she likely appeared entirely unhinged through her shyness and keen need to change the subject

"Stand, so I may inspect the stitching"

She nodded, moving backwards and trying to remember to breathe as the woman turned her this way and that, lifted the hems, tugged lightly on the buttons.

"This is very good work, you're certain she did it all herself?"

"I am"

"And all by hand?"

"There were no machines in the desert"

"Where you bought her?"

Hayami's voice was firm, her tone level but obviously angry at the insinuation. "Tamiko belongs to no-one"

"Interesting. Thank you for your reference, you may leave"

"Don't...don't you want to know if she's reliable, or dependable, or friendly?" Hayami asked, standing her ground as the woman attempted to usher her from the room.

"She is skilled, and obviously understands colour. I need workers who are resilient, who won't quit the moment a customer shouts at them. I need workers that are dedicated. Is she, as I suspect, the worker I am looking for?"

She could only nod, looking up at the fierce stare on the much larger woman's face.

"Good. I will contact her"

Hayami felt dumbfounded as she left, unsure what had entirely just happened but...happy? Yes. Happy. She needed to let Tamiko know that it had gone well, but first- groceries. She was looking forward to tonight, to spending time with the others-and to finally introduce Gai, happy that they'd asked for curry, but a little worried it would possibly become all the couple ate.

* * *

She contemplated the numbers as she filled the cart, yawning a little as she remembered the sheer amount she'd seen them all eat. Between the nausea from the pain killers, the awkwardness of the frame, and the nightmares that plagued her as they had that morning, she found herself missing sleep more and more - often accidentally sleeping in the window frame wrapped in blankets; finding comfort in the flickering stars.

Stepping out of the store, she realised what a horrific mistake she'd made when throwing items into the trolley whilst too tired to properly function. Too many bags, and not enough hands. Why didn't she bring one of the boys with her?

Ah yes. Wanting her own independance.

She officially hated the Hayami of this morning; struggling to keep her usual shopping bag on her shoulder and manage the additional two that contained the ingredients for tonight and her housewarming gifts. She tried to cradle them in her good arm as she walked, cursing herself lightly under her breath as she dodged past people.

And then something hit her foot. She swore at the pain, looking down and swearing again at the sight of the items rolling away.

"No, no, nononono"

She crouched, putting the good bags on the pavement and attempted to grab the vegetables, stuffing them into her already very full fabric bag before she had to jog down the street and retrieve the curry paste. She stared into the sky, annoyingly bright and cheery. _Please let the curry paste be intact. Please._

She sighed, pressing her fingers against her eyes and waiting for a moment, just waiting for the frustration to subside. She'd been so stupid to think she could do this alone with her useless arm...

"Here you go"

She jumped, startled and looked up with wide eyes towards the outstretched hand. She accepted the carrot, thanking the young man and quickly jamming it somewhere safe. She was mortified, bright red and stuttering and so _very_ ready for this day to just be over.

"Shikamaru! Help her with the bags, I think i've got the rest here!"

Hayami leaned forwards, looking past the legs of the boy, Shikamaru, and towards where two others were crouched, collecting the items quickly.

 _The Jinchuriiki kid_

Not that he was much of a kid anymore. She remembered him, distantly - bright yellow hair and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, but they'd so rarely been in town back then. Now he was a young man, had to be at least 17. He ran towards her with another boy in tow; and she laughed, wanting to cry.

"Thank you so much"

"No, no. Is your bag broken?" the other boy asked. He was tall, with red hair. Those cheek markings…An Akimichi clan member! She wondered if he was Choza's boy...

"Yeah, not my morning apparently" she replied, brushing off her dress and standing, pulling the fabric bag back over her shoulder.

"Do you live far? We'll help you get these home"

"Oh, I. No - well I don't, but these are for some friends of mine, and they're close" she stammered.

"What've you done to your arm?" the blonde asked, and the Akimichi boy quickly hit him around the back of the head.

"What?"

"You don't just ask things like that Naruto - Idiot!"

"Why not?"

"You're so troublesome...it's rude" The boy closest to her, Shikamaru, chastised

"Shut up!"

Ah. The one closest to her was Shikamaru, the Jinchuuriki kid Naruto, and she had no idea of the Akimichi kids first name. She couldn't help but laugh though, and they turned to stare at the small noise.

"Shikamaru, Naruto, Akimichi-san, thank you for helping me. My, um, my friends are this way. I'm Hayami"

They followed her, bicking lightly. She'd forgotten how teenage boys acted, so used now to the almost silent Neji and the overly excitable Lee. This bickering, glaring at each other and passing hidden looks, this was exactly how Jun and Hikaru had been; and it was difficult to not feel nostalgic.

"I know the name Hayami" the blonde said, jogging to catch up.

"Oh yeah?"

"I don't know where from…"

She contemplated for a second. He was too young to have heard anything about her disappearance, and if he were close with the team he'd likely have known her personally by now; especially with how often she found them just in her house these days.

"Your sensei perhaps?" she guessed "who are they?" she didn't think he was one of Kurenai's lot...

"Well, kakashi-sensei is my sensei, but Pervy-sage's been training me lately"

She laughed loudly, startling the three boys. "Pervy-sage!"

"Are you alright?"

She only knew of three konoha sages, and only one that fit the bill of that surname. And if he were in town...well she was both annoyed he hadn't already been through to visit and sure that she'd need to find him first thing tomorrow. "That's amazing, that fits him so well and I'm sorry but I'm stealing it"

"You know pervy-sage?!" Naruto all but shouted, and she nodded, wincing slightly at the volume, but entirely used to random bouts of shouting thanks to Gai.

"Yeah, he's an old friend. He was in school with my sensei, and we trained with him and travelled with him on and off when we were your age"

 _And were occasionally abandoned with him_

"You're a ninja?" the blonde asked, utterly disbelieving.

"Naruto that's rude" Shikamaru chastised, holding his forehead in annoyance

"No, he's fine. I'm aware i'm not exactly in fighting form right now…" Hayami said brightly, hiding that the statement hurt. Was it that obvious she was out of shape? No… Gai hadn't believed it either and she'd been in perfect shape then; best of her life possibly.

"Ah"

She turned to Shikamaru, who nodded. "I know who you are"

"You do?"

"I'm from the Nara clan, you're training with us, right?"

"Oh! Yes I start week after next, when I'm out of this sling"

He nodded, "my father was glad you're back"

Hayami was ashamed - how she hadn't realised that the two were related was a real testament to how tired she was. "Tell him i'm looking forward to working with him again, your father is an amazing strategist"

"He says the same about you"

She blushed, knocking at her friends door with the outside of her fist, revealing a surprised Natsuki as it opened. "Thank you, for your help, I'm afraid I don't have much to offer as thanks that isn't vegetables and uncooked beef"

The blonde shook his head, whiskers crinkling adorably as he grinned "We're late anyway"

She blanched, "Oh, gosh i'm so…"

"Nono, it'll show sensei-he's always got the most ridiculous excuses!"

"Is that Kakashi?"

"Yeah, he gets lost on the path of life a lot"

She stared, trying to imagine how Gai had made his rival in a man who couldn't make it to his own training sessions on time, and shook her head. "You learn something new about people every day" she muttered to herself.

"You know Kakashi-sensei?"

"I do, yes - say hi for me, it's been awhile since I've seen him. And Akimichi?"

The boy looked up from his bag of crisps, voice muffled "Yes?"

"I don't know if you will, but if you see Choza tell him Inoki says hi"

"Inoki?"

"My sensei"

"He's my pop, I will do"

She smiled at the three, moving the bags into the small kitchen and waving them off.

"How did you end up with a band of teenagers?" Tamiko asked, bounding over from the sofa to throw her arms around Hayami's waist

"Oh god… I've had the worst morning"

* * *

It was so warm that the air grew hazy; the sun beating down on the solitary figure as he waited, feet swishing in the warm water. What he'd give for ice. Real ice, cold and refreshing; clinking in a frosted glass of whiskey.

But he didn't have ice, he only had sand.

He was sick of sand. Sure, it provided safety, it always covered your tracks and there was enough of it that landscapes were ever changing, ensuring no-one...not until recently anyway...went missing. How do you run off if you're not sure if you'll die of dehydration before you reach anywhere worthwhile?

He briefly considered creating Ice, but it wasn't his strong suit. No. That had been his _lovers_ talent.

Takayuki - the name always apt as his lover created fine mists of snow that cooled them within his quarters. How often would they ride out to oasis's like this and Ice the entire thing, sighing with content as they settled into the frozen waters. A reverse hot spring, they would joke, often making love right there in the water as it warmed around them.

He had no ice now. Only fire.

The fire of his own jutsu, the fire of his rage, the fire of the sun on the sand and the fire that he planned to rein down on those that had wronged him. He knew that Takayuki had been in love with him, and he himself found love in the things Takayuki could provide to him - companionship, affection, passion... _ice_

But that little wretch had wheedled into his head, changed his way of thinking, and convinced him; alongside his entire platoon and Satoru's best tailor...to leave.

After _everything_ he'd done for the green haired bitch, she'd abandoned him too. He saved her from a town that wanted to control her talents, rescued her from being killed at his hands mindlessly if she continued investigating his side projects. **Oh** he remembered the excitement he'd felt when he infiltrated Konoha's anbu and spotted her surname on the dossiers. The chance to halt her pesky investigations **and** ensure the survival of a bloodline? It would have been unthinkable to leave her there. Amongst those...wolves that would only try and stifle her.

But like a good dog, she'd returned to them, betraying him in the process!

He seethed, feeling the water warm from his chakra as it bubbled through him alongside his anger.

"Sorry we're late"

He took a breath, calming himself lest his anger ruin the meeting he'd arranged. He turned, looking up from the black, cloud patterned cloaks to the familiar slashed headbands

"Not a problem gentlemen, just don't make a habit of it"


	32. Chapter 32

Authors note

Apologies if there are any errors in this chapter, I lost the entire thing I'd written and had to rewrite most of this tonight.

* * *

It was a disaster. An utter disaster, the perfect ending to a disastrous day.

"Tea?" Gai asked from the kitchen, having walked her back an hour or so before

"Honestly Gai, is there a beer in the fridge?"

He laughed, bending to rifle through her fridge, triumphantly waggling two bottles in the air. He took the tops off, setting them on the table in front of them and settling in next to her. She leaned forwards, quickly putting them on coasters before allowing him to maneuver them so her feet were on his lap.

"I thought it was lovely" he began, smiling at her load groan of disagreement.

"It was stressful"

"Well I had a lovely time. The food was lovely, they're obviously happy in the house! Tamiko was bright and energetic as always"

"she _is_ a spark" Hayami laughed "she'll be amazing in the shop"

"So, tell me what went wrong?" he asked, squeezing her feet gently and smiling as she all but melted into the sofa. In his opinion, it had gone marvelously- they'd laughed, and joked, eaten good food and swapped interesting stories. His girlfriend, _girlfriend - he still found himself whispering it to himself with disbelief_ \- was there, looking as beautiful as always…

She was a perfectionist though, a tired perfectionist at that, and he'd seen the undercurrent of stress there when he'd arrived.

"Well…"

 _Daisuki had been the unsung hero of the evening, managing everything with complete ease and showing that age certainly beat beauty._

 _The other three...Takayuki attempted to backseat cook, earning him many looks and eventually, in a fit of frustration, a smack from Hayami with a wooden spoon; causing her to immediately go red with embarrassment at the physical outburst. Daisuki had brought her a glass of wine - he earnt a serious brownie point for that one._

 _She'd tried to give each of them clear instructions, chop this to an inch thickness, boil water, put rice in that pan; but it was a disaster. The kitchen wasn't big enough, they all wanted to be the main cook, only two could chop at a time and they were attempting to throw away anything that wasn't right. Kuso had put the rice on without water and nearly burnt the place down because she was too busy watching Chou very carefully knead dough; after deciding the day before that he wanted to make bread for starters. It was only when they smelt smoke that she'd finally screamed "Enough!" and had thrown them all - save for Chou and Dai out of the kitchen to go buy more rice, and a new pan._

 _And then Gai arrived...She looked awful, her hair a frizzy mess, the kitchen covered in god knows what, two sulking boys in the front room and the man she desperately wanted to impress ringing the doorbell. She should have thrown the ingredients in and run off to find Jiraiya the moment the blonde teen told her the old geezer was in town._

 _Tonight was supposed to be perfect...but Inoki and the boys had already dropped out, her sensei stating research with Tsunade and the latter having to rush off on a sudden mission. The food was supposed to be a moment of pride for her new culinary students but instead found itself to be a stressful disaster, and she was hoping to look lovely, as she'd always just been herself around Gai, and had wanted to dress up for once- but that had failed also._

 _The bell went again, and she gripped the chopsticks, hyperventilating slightly. "If no-one else is moving, i'll get it then" Kuso had snapped, standing, and it did nothing to calm her._

" _Kid, whats wrong?"_

" _I had been hoping to use Inoki and the boys as a buffer between Kuso and Gai but they're not here and they're stropping like children and I look like a disaster and"_

" _Breathe, breathe Hayami" Chou laughed, flicking dough from his fingers where he'd begun knocking the air from the bread ready for baking. "I'll talk to Kuso"_

 _He and Dai quickly shared a look whilst Hayami tried to fix her hair in the reflection from the window. "I don't know what his problem is" Chou lied "but I'll tell him to stop being a baby, okay?"_

 _He quickly shoved the bread onto the baking tray and washed his hands, accepting her grateful smile as he jogged through the front room to diffuse whatever tension Kuso was once again attempting to create. She wasn't sure if Gai didn't notice or just didn't rise to it, but either way she was thankful that he remained amicable towards Kuso._

"I just thought that was his personality!" Gai interrupted, and Hayami laughed, rubbing at her eyes and shaking her head. "No, he's only ever been lovely with-shit"

"What?"

"I've just rubbed my eyeliner everywhere haven't I?"

"You look like an adorable panda"

She groaned, forcing herself up from the sofa. He tried to hold her back but she wiggled from his grasp, jogging up the stairs towards the bathroom. He chuckled, sipping his beer and attempting to calm his nerves. Whilst it was nice to relax together like this, it had been some time since they'd been alone - without work or family. The boys were out on a mission, Inoki had been gone for a couple of days as far as he could tell; though Hayami was apparently meeting her tomorrow, and he hated how oddly nervous he felt. He'd always gotten butterflies when he was round here alone with her; had loved the youthful worrying it caused within him, but they were together now, and being alone carried more weight than when he simply had to repeat 'don't get ahead of yourself she only thinks of you as a friend' in his head like a mantra.

His palms felt sweaty, and his heart hit his throat as he heard her footsteps upstairs.

She'd not gotten changed, and he was glad, the dress captivating him and drawing his nerves away. He held his arms out as she approached, pulling her onto his lap and laughing alongside her.

"I was covered, I must have rubbed it off earlier in the night and not noticed"

"You looked just as beautiful" he smiled, and she snorted , patting her hands against his chest as she got comfortable, enjoying the warmth he always seemed to give off. He laughed at the sight of thick knitted socks- they should have ruined the outfit, that much he knew; even with his own limited knowledge of fashion - but it was so irresistibly _her_ that he loved it.

She stilled in his lap though, sadness shadowing that wonderful smile, and he hummed in response, pressing his lips to her hairline. "What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking about Takayuki...what he told us"

 _They'd been enjoying the food, politely ignoring some lightly burnt bits of rice and slightly uncooked vegetables as they chatted mindlessly. Their conversations had been gentle, how they'd found Konoha so far, what they enjoyed, Hayami's upcoming operation to remove the pins from her arm. Natsuki had been very interested in the training regime, and they'd all laughed when he produced images of his students from his wallet like a proud parent. Everything was on the up-and-up, until Gai had asked the most dreadful question. Innocent, but awful._

" _So Takayuki, how did you end up within the camp?"_

 _They'd gone silent, nothing to be heard except for Hayami's sharp intake of breath_

" _You don't need to-" Hayami had begun, the others nodding and looking as if they wanted to try their luck with the nearby window, Gai in the middle looking largely confused by everyone's reactions._

" _No, it's alright. I met Satoru about four years ago, when I was still living within my family's compound. He was meeting my mother for business; looking back I had been so, so sheltered. I hadn't realised what my mother's business was, only that we were remarkably wealthy and that I could have anything I wanted. And I did" he laughed, darkly. "I must have blown through money like it was nothing, gambling, shopping, drinking and...well my cousins and I had fun, anyway" he coughed awkwardly. "And then Satoru arrived, and he took one look at me and saw a spoilt lord's son, a brat. And of course, this infuriated me. Who was he, to treat me like I was invisible? To ignore me as he passed through_ _ **my**_ _corridors? I went so out of my way to impress him, though in my naivety I had no idea that's what I was doing... I'd always been surrounded by people who were paid by my father, or who were wanting to use me to rise through the ranks in the family, so i'd never been treated like that before. I'd always been paid attention to; my jokes were always hilarious and I lead many men who would die for me in an instant - or so I thought. I obsessed over him, making sure I was training outside of meetings so he would see my skill, wearing my finery so he would notice me"_

 _Takayuki laughed, truly laughed this time; the skin around his eyes creasing as he laughed at himself. "I was like a peacock, strutting with ruffled feathers. Finally he asked if I wanted to spar, and I was satisfied, smug, knowing I'd caught his attention. I hadn't realised that I'd had his attention all along"_

 _The others around the table nodded, Gai intently taking in the story._

" _He beat me, pitifully easily. You'd all seen him train"_

" _Man was like a demon" Daisuki agreed. "When you two would spar it was impossible to keep the men away"_

" _And the women..." Natsuki agreed, Tamiko nodding and laughing as she remembered the cheeky glances as they'd worked, admiring the disrobed men as they fought._

" _I'd never really been beaten before, been challenged before, but there he was, knocking me down so easily and ignoring me in the corridors...and I followed like a lamb to the slaughter"_

" _And you followed him to the camp?" Tamiko asked, finding it difficult to imagine the headstrong man so submissive._

" _I would have followed him anywhere. I'll never forget how hard my heart was hammering when he arrived at my door the first night"_

 _Gai choked slightly on his drink, obviously oblivious to where the story was headed._

" _I knew that morning, when I woke up and he was gone, that I would leave with him, if he'd have me. I was third in line for the family business, and would have been married off to some wealthy girl if i'd have stayed; and lived a painfully boring but opulent life. Satoru was dangerous, he screamed of adventure; and I abandoned my family to be with him, writing some stupid note about being in love and leaving to be with him"_

" _And they never came looking for you?"_

" _If they did, I didn't know about it. We weren't in the camp at that point, but staying in his compound, that he'd inherited when his father passed"_

" _Or was murdered" Kuso muttered, and Hayami was surprised when Takayuki nodded, poking at his food with his chopsticks. "It honestly wouldn't surprise me"_

" _He stopped treating me as much like a pet, and more like an ally; asking for my opinion and letting me lead and train his men. I think that's why he brought me in the first place, to lead his men"_

" _You don't think he felt anything for you at all?" Hayami asked, feeling her voice crack a little_

" _I don't know, I think he did, in his own way; but he also viewed me as another commodity, as he did everyone around him"_

" _I think he did, lad" Daisuki admitted, laying a large hand over Takayuki's. "He was protective over you to a fault. Do you remember when he sent you to get some men he'd bought in the Land of Mist, and you got held up by that storm and had to bunker down?"_

" _Of course I do, I lost three men to that storm, they were too weak to pull through the fever it brought on"_

" _He was...frenzied. Beat anyone that angered him, and everyone angered him. I don't think the man understood what he was feeling, but it was concern for your wellbeing, not just for his investment"_

 _The table had been silent, Daisuki's revelation obviously shaking the younger man, who excused himself from the table almost immediately; adam's apple bobbing as he rushed away from the group._

 _It was Tamiko that had stood first, her small face determined. "You two" she began, gesturing to Kuso and Natsuki "clean up the plates, i'm going to check on Takayuki._

 _They'd left shortly after, Gai needing to be up early in the morning for a mission, and Hayami for her meeting with Inoki, Jiraiya and Tsunade._

* * *

"I...I am worried about him" Hayami admitted. "I know that Hikaru and Jun don't trust him, and that you've found it difficult too, but he was so manipulated by Satoru; and he left the only relationship he'd ever known to get me out. And i think, to get himself out too. You should have seen the bruise that Satoru gave him before we left...the others didn't seem surprised either, I don't think it was the first time"

"I don't not trust him" Gai admitted, gesturing for her to turn. "I feel for him, and can see that he regretted what he did"

She nodded, settling back onto the sofa, back against his chest. Her eyes drooped a little as he wrapped his arms around her middle, cuddling into her shoulder. "It doesn't excuse what he did"

"Hmm?" Hayami asked, leaning back to look up at him; face shadowed slightly by the shadow of his hair.

"Just because he feels remorse, and because he was manipulated; doesn't excuse that he betrayed you. Betrayed the town. You're such a compassionate person Hayami, but we; that is Hikaru and Jun and I, we aren't as youthful, and compassionate"

She hadn't realised how he really felt - his cheerful enthusiasm had hidden it from her. But now, alone, the anger evident on his expressionate face, she could see that he'd probably been there for her sake tonight, for her new friends. They stayed like that for some time, only the tenseness of his body and face indicating he was anything other than perfectly happy alongside her. Finally, he spoke. "Sometimes, I wake up and I worry that you're not going to just be next door. I panic that you're still out there, that I don't know if you're still alive…"

"Gai-" she began, but he cut her off, stroking her exposed forearm with his thumb as he spoke,

"I know I'll forgive him, that I'll trust him as you do; as it's in my nature - but it's hard to look at him and see 'Takayuki' and not 'Frog'. To not look at him and see the fact that the person I love, who I never believed would feel the same way for me, was taken and hurt so badly"

Hayami felt tears pricking in the corner of her eyes. Love. He loved her. She lifted her face, pressing a kiss against the underside of his chin.

"Sorry" he laughed. "I must be getting old, rambling on like that"

"On the contrary" she disagreed, nuzzling another kiss against his neck. "I think it would very youthful"

He laughed loudly, squeezing her tight as he did so, before kissing her and patting the tops of her arms. "We've both got to be up early, I should be off"

No. She didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to go back up to the impossibly soft bed that she'd stubbornly refused to shift, without him. She'd wanted to wait, to dress up in a lovely kimono with perfect hair and makeup and underwear but right now, this second, felt more perfect than that ever would. He'd just bared his heart to her, told her he loved her; and without any of the fakeness that was in all of her romantic books. She felt him shift behind her, and twisted. Resting her uninjured hand against his arm, she stopped him, hoping that her brain would at least work through her nerves enough that she'd be able to speak to him.

"Don't go"

He laughed, kissing her forehead gently. "I have to, my students are meeting me outside at 7 tomorrow morning; and you've got your meeting"

"I. Um. I…"

Oh god, there it went. She went bright red, knowing she'd had one chance before her stupid brain switched off. She took a deep breath in, feeling the air slowly fill her lungs before exhaling outwards, feeling the overwhelming panic move outwards alongside.

"Stay; u...um I mean. Stay here, tonight. With, with me"

She looked down, wishing for one second that she could maintain the level of elocution she had within her own thoughts. She wanted to be suave, to be a seductress, and was reduced to a blushing, stuttering teenager.

She stood, blood rushing to her head as she rose too quickly, and he laughed, rising with her.

"If you're sure then okay, i'd love to" he suddenly laughed, and she looked up, shocked by the reaction. "I'm not sure your pajamas would be as cute on me as mine on you though; do you think the boys would mind if I borrowed some pajamas? Or I could just nip next door and get…" His words drifted as he saw her shaking her head, reddening more than he thought was possible, even for her.

"I shouldn't get pajamas?"

"I...you can if you want to but…"

"Hayami?"

He watched the blush recede as she breathed slowly, a habit he was used to seeing by now, and she looked up at him, face adorably determined. "Youdontneedpajamas" she rushed out

"I don't need pajamas? Why-oh"

"Only if you want to" she checked, worrying at her bottom lip as she looked up at him, and he laughed breathlessly, bending to kiss her softly.

"Of course I do"

* * *

"Where is sensei?" Tenten asked, annoyed, as Lee continued hammering on his door. "He's never late! You don't think he went drinking with Kakashi-sensei again do you?"

"He's probably on his way back from his morning run with Hayami" Neji offered, looking impossibly bored. "Why he told us to arrive this early I don't know"

"What if he's hurt?" Lee panicked, "what if he did too many push ups last night and he's pulled a muscle? What if he got up too early and tripped on the stairs?"

"Okay worrier, I don't think it's that" Tenten laughed, rolling her eyes as her green clad friend began hyperventilating and continuing to hammer on the door.

"Don't you have a key lee?" Neji asked, obviously holding in a yawn.

"I do! Fantastic idea Neji!"

He held the key in the air with pride as Tenten leaned in towards Neji, whispering. "Do you feel offended we don't have keys?"

"Not particularly"

"Pfft" she laughed, hiding it in her fist as lee stepped into the dark house.

"Sensei?" they called, stepping into the front room. It was dark, his training things thrown on his bed from where he'd rushed back the night before. His bed was straightened, there were no breakfast pots in the sink. The house didnt look inhabited at all…

They locked it back up, Lee and Tenten sitting on the front step as Neji leaned against the wall , closing his eyes against the morning sun.

And then they turned, as Hayami's door opened. As Hayami's door opened, and Tenten looked as if she'd received her christmas gift early. "Good morning Sensei!" she called, winking at Hayami.

"You're early!" Gai laughed, pulling on his shoes as he ran into his own house, vaulting the dividing wall between their houses.

"You're late" Neji corrected

"And doing the walk of shame!" Tenten giggled violently, punching Lee in the shoulder with happiness.

"What's the-"

"I'll explain when you're older" Tenten snorted, laughing even harder as she enjoyed her own joke. She gestured for their sensei to hurry up and get ready for the mission as Hayami sidled back into the house, hiding her face in her hands as she moved away from the stares and jokes of the students.

That was not how she imagined this morning beginning.


	33. Chapter 33

Authors note - it feels slightly defeatist saying this, but I need to admit i've struggled lately a little balancing both this story and Collided with my outside of writing commitments, so don't worry the story isn't going (not even on haitus), but just as a pre-warning apology, a couple of chapters might end up being a day or two late, as it's Sunday night here now and i've got like 100 words written as I pen this note, and I'm recently finding myself like 'oh shit god it's the weekend and i've got nothing done' and I don't want to be putting out like, manically written chapters that sacrifice quality, so if I do miss a couple of days or a week I want to apologise now but also pre-warn you. If anyone reads these haha.

I also have a question, which i'll put up as a poll on my profile. Essentially when i've got the 7 chapters written of collided that I need to replace the existing chapters (and i'll just dump them all at once on Ao3) would you like Tuesday updates on like a week 1 week 2 system? The other option is writing both at once but I'm worried that'll mean late chapters as I try and keep up, and given that I work full time and have a social life outside of work I worry that realistically that'll burn me out.

Word vomit over! Enjoy the chapter, though it is just a short one this week :)

(Tuesday night addition - how cute is animal crossing pocket camp! My ID is 67429964846 if anyone wants to add me :D)

* * *

Frost still clung to the air as Hayami bid the team farewell, kissing Gai goodbye and the others good luck. She'd watched their forms shrink in the distance before leaving, nodding respectfully to the half asleep guards on duty that morning as she left, beginning her jobs for the day. Whilst she was glad for the thick leggings, the warm coat and the scarf forehead protector warming her neck; she was in fact thankful for the morning chill as her mind drifted back to the night before. It had been awkward, and fumbling, and...perfect. nothing like the suave choreographed scenes in films and books; more clunky, laughing as they accidentally tickled and elbowed each other, teeth clashing as they lost themselves in well...each other.

She shook her head, refusing to allow it to distract her from the day ahead. Her research and notes were heavy in the bag on her good shoulder, which hit against her hip with each step. She needed to get a move on, or she'd be late for her meeting. Now of course, when Hayami had said 'meeting with Tsunade, Inoki and Jiraiya' to Gai, what she'd meant was 'find Jiraiya and drag him to the meeting with Tsunade and Inoki'

Semantics

Honestly, she couldn't help but be a little disheartened he hadn't tried to find her already...when they were small, and travelling on the road with Inoki was so new; they'd often found themselves moving for weeks at a time with the white haired sannin, their sensei stating that they were too young for what she was going to do, or that she needed, just _needed_ to make sure they were safe whilst she went on a mission they weren't strong enough for yet. There were a couple of 'aunts' and 'uncles' that the three trainee assassins had found themselves staying with as they grew up; living with, eating with, being healed by…

She stretched her arms upwards as she thought back, remembering all the times they'd run through the countryside in search of knowledge with the white haired ninja. Whilst with Inoki they took lives, observed her taking lives, and worked together to create potent poisons for the sole purpose of, you guessed it, taking lives; working with Jiraiya was an exercise in life. They spent long missions attempting to purely make the lives of their fellow ninja better; and she knew he'd made an impact on the boys, especially Hikaru. Looking back, they'd also spent a strange amount of time in hot springs; which at the time she'd thought was due to the fact he knew they all went often as a family, and later in life discovered it was so he could attempt to peek on the ladies.

No guessing where Hikaru got _that_ from.

Jiraiya was one of all of their favourites, him and…

Ah!

Her hunch played out. Whenever he brought them back to Konoha, they'd always take a stop at the memorial to pay respects; and she'd immediately headed there to see if he arrived in the crisp morning light. Like clockwork, there he was.

Her second choice was the hotsprings, and she was so thankful that she wasn't going to have to see if he was peeking through the outside wall.

"Ero-Sennin!"

He turned, a grumpy expression on his aging face. "Naru-Hayami!"

"Who taught you that nickname?" he asked skeptically, trying to hold back his grin as he stood; geta sandals clacking slightly against each other as he moved. She rushed into his arms, squeezing him as tight as her short arms would allow, snorting as his fingers wiggled into her sides.

"Stop tickling me you old-"

"Old?"

"You heard me Sannin, old!"

"Well if I'm so old then I can get away with tickling a young pretty kunoichi can't I?"

She squealed with laughter, the sound of it filling the usually morose area. This was a game they often played, and had done since she was a shy girl of 10.

...as opposed to the very confident woman she obviously now was. Not.

"Now kiddo, what've you done to your arm?"

"Hasn't Inoki told you?"

He looked shocked. "Inoki's here? I thought she was still out!"

"No, she's been back for a couple of weeks now, ever since I came back"

"Came back?"

"You...don't know?" asked, beginning to wonder if any of their friends outside of Konoha knew... "About me being kidnapped?"

He looked blank

"Being held hostage for a year?"

His eyebrows furrowed, arms crossing across his chest.

"Losing my chakra?"

He bent into a comical squat, looking her in the eye as he studied her face.

"Your sensei has a lot of explaining to do" he said deeply, anger flickering across his face briefly before vanishing into one of his trademark grins. He stood, swinging an arm across her shoulder.

"What do you say you and I go get kurage and you can tell me all about it, and then we'll invite your brothers so they can tell me why they felt fit to not send me a letter over the entire year you were in danger"

She glanced up at him, at the tenseness in his posture and the manic grin on his face, wrinkling the mole she used to poke.

"Uncle, it's 8 in the morning, we're not getting kurage. How about you come with me though to see Inoki and Aunt Tsunade and we'll discuss how to kill the bastard that hurt me?"

He nodded. "Tsunade and Inoki in one room? I am a lucky man!"

Hayami paused, grimacing slightly before leading the way, Jiraiya's arm still slung over her shoulder.

She deadpanned, staring at him with a blank expression. "Try not to get too excited"

* * *

"I'll take us up the side" Jiraiya insisted, gesturing upwards to the open window at the top of the building

"We're taking the stairs" Hayami insisted

"Or I could take us up the side?" The older man teased, bending to rest one of his arms on the crook of her knee and giving her a look that screamed 'please'.

"It's your choice to wear impractical shoes, Uncle. Come on"

"I'll have you know these are historic. _Historic_ "

She took his hand, dragging him towards the stairs, the two pointedly ignoring the sniggering of anbu that they passed. Honestly, Jiraiya was an idiot; but she loved that about him - in the same way she loved Hikaru. It was hard to be glum around either, and when they were together...oh boy you were in for fun.

She felt proud as she reached Tsunade's office, her morning runs had fixed the panting Hayami of a few weeks ago, and she casually let herself in.

"Hayami!" Tsunade began.

"You're late" Inoki continued, her stern look dropping though as Jiraiya's cheeky smile passed through the doorframe.

"Sorry sensei, I had to pick up a stray on my way here" Hayami laughed, stepping to the side to reveal her charge. Inoki immediately stood, crossing the room swiftly. "Jiraiya you old toad - what are you doing here?"

"I was bringing Naruto back! I've taken on Minato's kid, I was originally heading off straight away but I got a couple of days out of town and got note from a certain Hokage over there saying to come back as I was needed"

"And you didn't come here?"

"I was paying my respects when Hayami appeared, little moth always knew how to find me" he said proudly, his chest puffing outwards as he moved to ruffle her hair. She dodged the large hand, moving towards the table. "It was the memorial or the hot springs, you're not hard to predict uncle"

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to Inoki's cheek before ignoring her glare and heading over to the table. "What are we working with then?"

Hayami settled opposite him, happily sipping on a steaming cup of jasmine tea before pulling her research from her bag. "Jiraiya, let me get you up to speed. I was taken by a man called Satoru, who appears to be the central hub for a lot of illegal trade in the region. Drugs, people, weapons...you name it, he's pushing it. In this book are composite sketches and snipped bingo book entries for people I watched him strike deals with, and in the other are collated notes we have on his activities and whereabouts"

"Okay...okay. Good. I know of this man; I've never seen this woman before...god he's an ugly one isn't he!"

Jiraiya made small comments as he flicked through the makeshift bingo book, licking his pencil before making small marks on a couple of the pages.

"I can confirm that the men on pages 2, 6 and 24 are deceased" Inoki cut in, watching as Jiraiya's eyes flicked to hers before sighing and crossing them off.

"Something to say old friend?" Inoki asked, a dagger's edge to her voice

"You know there isn't, not here" He replied, sighing.

Hayami tuned out, she'd heard this argument a million times before. Jiraiya understood that death was a necessary part of being a ninja, but didn't always appreciate Inoki's deadpan attitude towards it. She wasn't a monster, or a sociopath, she was just very straightforward in her approach to work; and it had taken a long time and a lot of sake on Inoki's part for Jiraiya to get under that hard shell and learn that the assassin wasn't as emotionally heartless as she appeared in respect to her work.

Well, that and watching her fret over the wellbeing of her students.

"First thing I think we need to do" Tsunade began, interrupting the potential argument, "is determine what Satoru's potential motivation is moving forwards. Our anbu haven't seen any activity around the borders so we know he isn't going to make a move to recapture you Hayami"

She felt the flutter of nerves that she'd had almost relentlessly since waking up blare into life. "Are you certain? Certain he isn't going to come for me, or for the others?"

"As certain as we can be. As we continue to lock down potential business partners I hope we'll eventually drive him out of the area"

"But that'll just drive him into other areas!" Hayami argued, feeling herself stand and raise her voice, entirely not in control of her reaction.

"Then we will alert the other regions of the potential risk" the hokage replied, her voice level - obviously attempting to calm the young woman.

"We need to take him out" Hayami argued, sitting and pulling the books from her satchel. "How many people is he going to sell, to abuse? It's our responsibility to take him out"

It was Jiraiya's hand, settling onto her shoulder, that jarred her from her anger, his fingers moving to wipe loose hair from her face; the green strands coming away damp - when had she started crying?

"Hayami, how much sleep have you been getting?" Inoki asked, worry lacing her features. Hayami flushed beetroot; mind flitting back to the night before, where she'd likely only had a couple of hours. "Enough" she chose to answer, looking away as Jiraiya's face cracked into the biggest smile she'd ever seen, the lights dancing in his eyes a clear indication that she was about to be teased horrifically.

"A mother doesn't need to see an expression like that Hayami. Just tell me, you were safe, correct?"

"Inoki! We're in front of the Hokage!" she whispered angrily, eyes wide with shock

"Oho! No you don't young lady, with you, and especially with **this,** I'm aunt Tsunade, who wants to know what happened. You were careful with your arm weren't you? We're wanting to take those pins out next week"

"Who's the lucky Ninja then? He is a ninja, isn't he?" Jiraiya asked, scooting closer as he spoke

"It's Maito Gai" Tsunade responded, "Inoki's been keeping me in the loop, and Shizune"

"The great green beast? Hayami!" Jiraiya exclaimed

"What?"

"Congratulations, that man is the pinnacle of physical fitness and stamina!"

"Oh god can we please get back to the maniac in the desert?" she begged, feeling as if she wanted the ground to swallow her up - sure that most women don't have to discuss losing their virginity with the leader of their city, a legendary sannin, and a renowned assassin.

"I'm just saying" Jiraiya continued, "it's no wonder you look tired"

She wanted to die. This was it, it was impossible to be more embarrassed than she was at this moment in time...She wanted to leave the realm of existence and get away, get out of the room. She squeezed her eyes shut, imagining a world where she was back outside the door again, where this conversation never happened. She imagined herself drifting into the shadows and just walking away, unseen. They'd gasp as she vanished and she'd simply laugh and run back down the stairs and go live in the woods as a hermit. She sighed, opening her eyes and preparing herself for the three laughing faces before her.

She stared at the door.

"Hayami!"

"Hayami?"

There were shouts from the other side of the room and she gently touched the door, having to remind herself that the wood was real, that she really had suddenly appeared outside of the room.

She'd imagined drifting down, moving away from the source of her cringing embarrassment...but had she really done it? She'd been sleepwalking for weeks now, or so she thought. Was this what had been happening?

Her small hand gripped the doorknob and she opened the heavy door, taking in the panicked faces of it's occupants.

"I...um...I didn't mean to do that"


	34. Chapter 34

Authors Note-

#NewYearNewChapter

I'm so sorry for vanishing! I'd thought the chapter would possibly be a day or so late, but then we were just busy every day in the run up to christmas and I decided to take the time off rather than rushing to write and giving you utter shite. Hopefully this isn't utter shite.

Hope everyone had a lovely christmas and new year!

To those of you waiting for Collided, it's coming soon, and to those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, as it's coming soon now I'll give you a little bit of detail. It's a LokixOC story I have up on that i'm revamping and massively improving. There's 7 chapters up at the moment, and once i have 7 to replace them with i'll do the switcharound then add chapter 8. So far it looks like it'll take me like 15 chapters to get to the point i was at by the old chapter 7 - so that's something to look forward to (and be aware of)

The premise is this- Lady Aela is a warrior from Niflheim, who is engaged to Thor through arranged marriage, which she won as a tournament prize. She arrives though, and finds she's far more interested in his younger brother, Loki. Torn between the honour of her family, her own lust for power, and her growing love for the raven haired prince, what will she choose to do?

Keep your eyes peeled folks, as i'll have it posted soon

Remember that i go by the same name on twitter and i do post updates there, and you can also ask me questions whenever!

* * *

Konoha was bustling, and at complete juxtaposition to Hayami's much more melancholy spirit. It was less than a month til the festival, and she knew that she should have been smiling at the shop keeper currently putting up a sign, thinking of how wonderful it would be to walk under the vibrant strings of lights with Gai, picking out her kimono fabric with Tamiko...but everything just felt...grey. Colourless.

She knew rationally it was shock, her brain trying to process so many things happening at once; her new abilities, the frustration at the lack of progress with Satoru, and the sudden step she'd taken with Gai; but irrationally she just wanted to hide and pretend none of it was happening; to go home, get her knitting out and continue wallowing in the loss of her chakra whilst focusing on the jumper she'd been slowly making over the last few weeks. It had been helping with the mobility in her fingers, and the need for precise order in her brain.

And she was allowing herself to me mentally distracted again…

The poster was up now in the window ahead of her; and she sighed before smiling, glad that she'd still be able to go to the festival, but nervous about postponing her training. Was she being ridiculous? Frivolous?

She felt guilty, knowing she should be putting the needs of the town before her own, but at the same time almost revelling in the selfishness of the whole thing. She mattered, and her wants mattered...but did they matter more than the work she should be doing?

After the incident they'd immediately pulled Hayami back into the room, sitting her down and requesting to know exactly how long she'd been able to move like that.

"I...haven't done it before; not really"

"Not really?" Inoki asked, playing with a kunai from her pocket nervously

"Well when I had fever dreams I imagined being able to do it; and then i've recently been sleepwalking, but never consciously"

"You...melted, Tadpole" Jiraiya laughed darkly, pacing behind the two older women. "Melted - just down into the shadow behind you - then pop! Knocking on the door"

"I imagined wanting to be out of the room; drifting into the shadows and leaving the building"

"Thank god you only made it outside of the door!" Inoki almost shouted. "Imagine if you hadn't have reappeared! An untrained, unknown ability like this, you could seriously hurt, or even killed yourself…"

"I wont do it again…"

"Oh yes you will"

Everyone in the room looked towards the hokage, who had finally spoke. "Can you imagine the potential this has for Konoha?"

"And who's going to train her safely?" Inoki scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I have a couple of ideas, the Nara clan, for one...and the idea you brought to me last week Inoki, for the other"

"You forbade it" Inoki stated, eyebrow raised.

"And when has that ever stopped you before?" Tsunade laughed softly, turning away from the trio and towards the window. "You need to set off now though; or as soon as you can. You're right Inoki, the longer your bloodline traits go untrained the more danger you're in. And I have a horrible feeling we'll need you at the front lines when we go after Satoru, Hayami"

Hayami could only nod; knowing after being around the man for a year that she'd have pissed him off; not only escaping but taking his lover, and many of his guards, with her. "If we're going where I think we're going, I can't just leave though. How do I explain that in a note?"

"Just say we're going to see an old friend, and last minute" Inoki replied.

"I'm not happy about this…" Jiraiya muttered

Hayami nodded, frowning. She was unhappy with the response, but at least understood that it was necessary at the point they were at. "The boys are still out on their missions though?"

"They can catch up, we'll leave them an actual note. With the truth on it"

She took a deep breath, steeling herself from the inevitable backlash she knew she was about to cause, but honesty she was sick of just accepting, of allowing others to make her decisions for her. And the final straw, the flippant way Inoki had referred to her lying to Gai... "I refuse"

You could have cut the tension with a knife.

Inoki stared at her. "You refuse?"

"I refuse"

"Hayami, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm your sensei, and you need to leave town right now"

"No. I'm...I…" she steeled herself, feeling a flush hit her face and her words begin to drift. "Sorry Inoki but I want to go to the winter festival, and I know we'll be out of town for longer than a month"

Inoki's face was stone, "You have a dangerous, untrained ability. There is a madman, who _kidnapped_ you, on the loose, selling people, weapons, and god knows what else...and you're wanting to put all of that on the back burner so you can go to a _**festival**_ "

"It's not just about the festival Inoki. I still need to have the pins taken out of my arm and everything's only just starting to feel normal again. I want to be normal, to go to a festival with my boyfriend in a nice Kimono, with my friends and family. I know i'm being selfish but we have Anbu investigating Satoru, i'm working with them round the clock to find him and stop all of this madness. Can this little piece of madness not wait til after the festival? I'm not going to intentionally use my abilities"

"You still need to learn to use them"

"I know, but-"

"There's no buts young lad-"

"Okay, that's enough" Tsunade stopped them, stepping between the two increasingly irate women. As much as she loved it with Inoki began acting like a mother to her three students now wasn't the time. "Inoki, do you know where he is?"

"I believe so, yes"

"And how far away is he?"

"Tsunade, you know…"

"I'm not asking for a location, just a time frame"

"If i'm correct, and we're quick he's roughly a week away"

"Right. Hayami. You need to learn to use these abilities"

She nodded, solemn. She'd have to make it up to Gai, to Tamiko… "Yes Hokage"

"But that can wait, till the festival. Until then, you'll work with the Nara clan, who will experiment with you. I'll put some feelers out and see if i can't contact a clan member somewhere. Get some answers. I'm unhappy about this, but I can see your point. For your own health, you can have the month"

"Thank you Hok- Tsunade"

"Good. You're a good ninja Hayami, we need you back out there - but on top form. Get your head back in the game and continue with the research, and we'll make our push once you're trained up, okay?"

"Okay"

* * *

"So...Gai"

He turned, effortlessly running backwards as he took in a smirking Tenten "hmm?"

"Why were you leaving Hayami's house this morning?"

"Well-"

"In last night's clothing?" Neji added

"I-"

"You were late as well, Sensei!" Lee questioned, not quite understanding where the other two were going with their questions. "Did you and Hayami not sleep well?"

That was it, the teenage boy's naive, genuinely caring question causing Gai to turn crimson just as Tenten and Neji snorted with laughter.

"You know lee" Tenten teased "I don't think she did sleep well. She looked tired, didn't she?"

"She did, yeah" Lee agreed, worry clouding his features. "You're looking after her though aren't you Gai-sensei?"

Tenten jumped in before Gai to answer, winking at him before clapping Lee on the shoulder, trees speeding around them as they joked. "I'd say it's safe to say Gai Sensei is _certainly_ taking care of all of Hayami's needs, isn't that right sensei?"

Flustered, he coughed, red faced - running ahead. "I'm going to scout!"

"I don't understand?" Lee queried, pausing on his branch to swig from his bottle. "What's got Gai-Sensei so flustered?"

Tenten sighed, forehead resting in her right hand. She looked up at him from under her fingers. "You really dont?"

"No!"

"They had sex. We're teasing him about it"

Lee's face shifted from confusion, to understanding, and then to embarrassment...and then to pride. "Go sensei!"

Tenten's shifted to disgust. "Oh god Lee don't ruin this, please"

"I'm going to go congratulate him!"

"Oh Lee...don't make this weird"

Neji moved forwards into the space Lee had left from, stoically standing next to Tenten. "It's Lee, of course he's going to make it weird"

Tenten slapped his arm, glaring lightly. "Don't be mean" she chastised, before launching herself off the branch and towards where the two green jumpsuited wonders were waiting.

Neji gestured lightly into the air. She was just! He was only… "urgh" he muttered, wondering what the hell he'd done wrong.

* * *

Hayami turned, spotting Inoki and Hikaru. He'd just gotten back from his mission, and she felt even more awful that he was leaving again. Because of her he wouldn't get a break... She'd been waiting here for 15 minutes for the pair, and the iciness coming from Inoki was still fresh, and severe.

"Hi"

"Morning Ams!"

Hikaru greeted her brightly at least. She nestled into his outstretched arms, and he quickly brought his lips down to her ear. "Don't worry, Inoki filled me in. I'm proud of you, honestly. You've always been a bit wet when it comes to stuff like this so i'm glad to see you saying no. I'll keep her distracted whilst we go find Hebi"

"Thankyou" she simply whispered back, kissing his cheek softly before pulling away. His antics always amused Inoki, he'd have her cheery in no time; and they all knew if they found their mark Inoki would be pleased, she'd always had a...special relationship...with that particular surrogate Uncle.

"Give my love to everyone, okay?"

"I will"

"And please pass on my apologies to Uncle Hebi. And give him this?" she passed Hikaru a package

"You two still write to each other?" he asked, looking at the package with uncertainty.

"He doesn't often write back, but he does send research notes sometimes- this was on my desk when I got home, my annotations are all done, and my letters in the front. Tell him I need a bird if he wants me to continue checking his research, just til I figure out my summoning again"

"What do you two even write about anyway?"

"Interesting research papers that we've read, prospective ideas, day to day life. I send him photos of us"

"You've spoken to Uncle Hebi about your day to day life?"

"Of course"

"Including Gai?"

"Of course"

His eyes widened, before scrunching with confusion. "And he tells you about his day to day life?"

"Snippets. Though he sometimes asks questions, or talks about interesting things he's seen"

"Ah...Hayami?"

"Yeah?"

"A. you have a weird favourite uncle"

"The man is a genius!"

"He's mental and makes me uncomfortable. B. Does he know you were captured for a year or does he think you were just too busy to write?"

"Unless Inoki told him, then no...it's in my letter though"

"That's going to be a fun conversation" he laughed darkly, tucking the hefty package into his bag. "We'll send you and Jun coordinates when we're back, okay?"

"Okay"

They hugged once more, and she was relieved when Inoki at least nodded to her. Her mentor was obviously unhappy, and disappointed, but she needed to do what was right for her. Hayami watched them leave, knowing that if anyone had the information she needed, it would be him. As a child she'd spend hours in his library, as much making friends with the books as she did the other researchers, ninja's and doctors that he socialised with.

He'd have the answers for her.

* * *

"You've got the box secure then?"

Lee nodded, gesturing to his back with his thumbs. "We'll transport it safely sir!"

"Good, the contents of that box are worth a small fortune. Don't lose it"

The four nodded, checking again that the straps were tight. Before setting off. Their destination was a two day hike, followed by a day back to Konoha. And the box was heavy.

"What do you think is in the box then?" Lee asked, taking it slow to ensure he didn't jostle whatever he was carrying.

"It's-"

"Shut up Neji" Tenten laughed. "You ruin the game if you just tell us what's inside. I think it's an antique book"

"Too heavy for a book, I think it's gems" Lee responded, squatting to truly measure the weight.

"I think it's an ornate, faberge egg. Only crafted within a 30 year window, they're worth a small fortune" Gai guessed, and the other three looked at him with confused, furrowed brows.

"Gai-sensei...how do you know that?"

"Hayami told him" Neji mouthed to Tenten, and she rolled her eyes, mouthing her reply back. "No bet"

"Hayami told me!"

"See, no bet" she mouthed, causing Neji to smirk lightly.

"She's really been expanding your horizons sensei!" Lee exclaimed, and Tenten barked with laughter before Gai interrupted.

"I'm not starting this again!"

The trio laughed, enjoying how flustered he was at the moment. Some sensei's were stern, and whilst at times they wished they had a more serious sensei, they loved that they had a sensei they could laugh and joke with like this. In reality, they knew they wouldn't exchange him for the world.

"It's gems" Neji confirmed. "There's a chest of them inside the crate- uncut"

"I knew it!" Lee shouted happily, bringing his hands backwards to support the base and taking off up the hill in a jog. "Think we can do this two day hike in a day sensei?"

"Why Lee, that sort of enthusiasm is just what we need!"

"Why Lee, that sort of enthusiasm is just what we need" Tenten mimicked, glaring at the retreating forms of her friends. "Neji, just once i'd like to do things at a normal pace. At a sane pace"

"I agree. But the cardio is good for us"

Tenten groaned. "I know…it's good for my figure at least"

"That's true" he replied, beginning to run after the others

"Neji!" Tenten cried, catching up to him quickly, a stern glare on her face.

He turned, confused. "What?"

"That's the part where you're supposed to answer that i'm being ridiculous and there's nothing wrong with my figure"

"Oh"

"I swear how am i surrounded by so much social ineptitude at all times! Do you think there's something wrong with my figure?"

"Oh god. No" he stuttered, staring at her with panic before speeding up, desperate to leave this conversation far behind.

Tenten briefly considered her Kunai, right at his blind spot, before shaking her head.

Idiots. She was surrounded by idiots.


	35. Chapter 35

Authors note - updates might be twice a month for a little while, as I said in the last authors note i've been really busy lately, but i'm determined to find the time to write and update as I truly love doing it - thank you for being so patient with me and hopefully i'll be back to weekly chapters soon!

* * *

Their shelter should have been basic, they'd been told. Simple. Easy to prepare.

It was anything but.

Gai thought he'd understood at the time, when Hayami was gesturing into the air and pointing at diagrams; but now, faced with the diagrams and three soaking wet teenagers...it might as well be impossible. He wished he had a way to contact her out here, to ask her to run through the perfectly laminated instruction cards, but that was also impossible.

"We should have tested it on the first night, when it was dry" Neji remarked, looking up from the small fire he was boiling water on.

"I know" the older man admitted, biting at his lip. They'd gotten to the top of the mountain, dropped off their cargo; and had regretfully turned down shelter. He felt watched, like every pair of eyes was fixed on their small group, but quickly realised it wasn't the entire ninja party that was being watched so diligently, but one member in particular.

He'd been on edge, and uncomfortable.

He'd not seen a single woman in the entire camp, and had decided it safer to head back down the mountain and camp either in the forest, or back at the base. Now though, as harsh, painful rain hit...he should have simply stayed awake and watched over the group at the mine. They were all freezing, soaked to the skin and tired to their bones. Hayami had warned him about the rain, but he'd been so happy at the time, and she'd looked so radiant in the morning sun, that the warning hasn't quite sunk in; and once he'd remembered, he assumed they'd simply been lucky enough to miss it.

Tenten stepped forwards, gesturing for the instructions. Lee was busy holding a waterproof over Neji, ensuring the fire didn't go out. "You're telling me Hayami and the others lived in this godforsaken forest for weeks?"

"Apparently so, isn't she resilient!"

"Either that or partially aquatic" Tenten muttered, flicking through the pages and reading everything before her. It looked insane, but it could just work.

"And she said this thing would work?"

"She said they put it up whenever they were between shelters"

Tenten chuffed a little, smirking up at Gai, who had tied his sodden hair away from his face. "If Hikaru can set this up, so can we". Her sensei coughed with laughter, patting her affectionately on the head.

"Neji, can Lee keep the fire safe?" she asked, peering around Gai and taking in the two teens.

"I can!"

"Great" she replied, not waiting for Neji to reply. "Neji, come here"

Gai stepped back and let the Kunoichi take charge. It was insane, to look at such an accomplished group of ninja's and imagine them back when they were children, each so different to now. He marvelled at their growth as he allowed himself to be bossed around; twisting the enormous screws into the thick, slimy trees around them. There were 16 in total, making two rings of 8, one at head height and one about 6ft above, on alternate trees. From the lower trees they clasped an enormous circle of tarp, making a formidably large suspended fabric platform. Enormous knuts were fastened onto the back of the screws, holding them in place, and from the top screws they added extra ropes to ensure they didn't fall during the night.

The circular tarp itself was a tent, and by the time they'd gotten themselves in and suspended their bags from the trees below, they couldn't believe the space available to them. As wet as the outside had been by time the construct was erected, the inside was dry, and they quickly stripped off their drenched waterproofs and hung them in the seperate entrance area, with towels underneath.

"So when Hayami said they would camp for weeks…" Lee began, voice in awe

"This must have been what she meant. I've never seen anything like it!" Gai marvelled, pulling a warm, dry top on and settling back against his sleeping bag.

"Judging by the handmade directions and lack of finesse i'd say it's something Inoki-sama has invented"

Tenten hummed slightly, returning from her privacy at the front of the tent like structure. "You sound surprised?"

Neji shook his head. "I'm not"

"Good. She's a renowned kunoichi, isn't she sensei?"

Gai chuckled, remembering how scared he was as a boy whenever they heard she was at the academy. "She is indeed. A good person to look up to Tenten, and to learn from, if you wanted to"

They sat quietly for a few minutes, the only noise the gentle whisper of Tenten's kunai as she re-sharpened them. Finally, tenten spoke. "She raised Hayami, didn't she?"

Gai paused, unsure how to answer. He didn't want to reveal personal information, but she'd definitely referred to them as her siblings around his students before… "Yes, she did"

"Can I ask you something serious?" Neji continued. Gai's eyebrows raised, it wasn't often that Neji asked before speaking, or had the conflicted look on his face that he currently wore.

"Always, Neji"

"I heard that they gave Inoki-sama students because they were worried about her abandoning the village, and that's why they gave her three unattached children"

The silence in the tent was no longer comfortable.

Gai's voice was serious. "Neji, where did you hear that?"

"I heard some of the main house talking about it, about how she was going for longer and longer periods of time, and they gave her students to try and stop her becoming a missing nin"

Gai knew the rumors, but that's all they were. Rumours. And he told Neji as such. Inoki was a bit scary, but was kind and caring, and motherly towards her students. Hayami obviously cared for her deeply, and that's all the confirmation he needed. He took a gulp of his water, hot and warming from the fire below them.

"Gai?"

"Yes Lee?"

"If Hayami doesn't have a dad, then you'll have to ask Inoki for permission to marry Hayami-sensei"

Gai choked, coughing violently and staring at Lee. He didn't think his heart could handle any more free speech from his precious students tonight…

* * *

Standing outside of the Nara compound, Hayami was more than a little nervous. She was always terrified of meeting new people, and whilst Tamiko had tried to reassure her by saying she'd met the youngest Nara once, knew Shikaku from work, and knew the elders as well, she still had no idea who she'd be training with and was desperately trying not to hyperventilate as she rested her forehead against the smooth wood of the compound gates.

"Do you need any help?"

The green haired ninja jumped out of her skin, heart pounding. A tall woman stood behind her, long dark hair tied into a low ponytail; a few thick wisps framing her face.

"I said, are you alright?"

"Oh, yes. I. Um. I'm"

"If you're selling something we're not interested." the woman stated firmly, looking Hayami up and down with an appraising eye.

"I'm a ninja" Hayami managed to splutter out, feeling herself go crimson

"Good for you"

"The. um. The hokage has organised training"

"Training? _oh_ " she exclaimed, as realisation dawned. "You must be Hayami then?"

The redness didn't subside as she nodded.

"You're here to see Shikaku"

Hayami forced herself to look into the woman's eyes as she replied, hating how bad she was with new people. "I...I was just told to come to the compound, I wasn't told who i'd be training with"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Well now I'm telling you. Come on in"

Hayami followed her into the enclosed area, glancing around. The compound was simple, traditionally decorated with the odd deer milling around. "They occasionally wander in from the forest" her stern guide explained, pulling her attention away from the lovely creatures and their peaceful grazing and back towards the compound itself. She spotted Shikaku immediately, resting on the steps to the main building alongside his son, who also looked to her in vague interest.

She bowed respectfully, and they waved lazily in return. It had been some time since she'd been around the clan leader, but she'd been looking forward to working alongside him again once she was better. He stood, greeting her warmly. "Here to learn about shadows then?"

She straightened up. "I am"

"Join us then, we were just waiting for you"

"Oh gosh, i'm so sorry, I hope you weren't waiting-"

The stern woman interrupted her. "I found her outside talking to the fence"

Shikaku looked at Hayami, laughing. "You've not changed much"

"Well. I. um"

He clapped her on the shoulder firmly. "Lets get started"

The room he lead her to was large, and airy; but with plenty of shadows - exactly what she'd expected from a clan specialising in shadow manipulation. They all stood, the two nara men on one side of the room and her ahead of them, looking between the two.

"Right then Hayami, The Hokage didn't give me much information to go off, so why don't we start with you showing us what you can do" Shikaku began, every inch the teacher.

She breathed, concentrating on her ruined chakra network and feeling the now familiar burn of the ability within her. Looking back, her chakra in the past was light and energetic within her pathways, but this was...heat and smoke and pure power. It felt angry, like the buzzing of bees. She couldn't help but wonder, was it the new ability that was angry or her own emotions personifying it within her; given that during her fever dream it had felt so...peaceful.

She tried to return to that calm, the gentle feeling that she felt when it truly began; the blackness covering her skin and turning her many freckles into the stars along the night sky. It burnt less than last time, but she could still feel the sweat bead on her brow from the effort.

"Good, good. Keep it steady, and limit it to just your arm. I'm going to try and link through to it"

She focused, keeping the shadows wrapped around her arm, manipulating it at the ends of her fingertips til they were points, then a solid weapon, then back to fingers again - using the exercise to keep her control firm. She had no idea what it would feel like for his shadows to link with her own, and breathed slowly as she attempted to balance the ability and her own anxiety, still throbbing within her from the earlier encounter. He crouched, and his shadow smoothly lurched forwards, snaking along the ground til it reached her.

"Shikamaru, watch carefully. Hayami, lower your arm"

She did, feeling immediately as the smoking blackness that covered her forearm met the calm sensation of Shikaku's own jutsu.

"Shikamaru, bring your own shadow here and tell me what you feel. Are you alright Hayami?"

"I am, yes"

The words came out through gritted teeth, but truthfully, she was alright. She'd never held it this long, and like a plank, it at first was horrible, and she wanted to drop the power...but now... Now it felt more natural, and she forced herself to breathe out slowly, releasing the control just a little and marvelling at how the form stayed.

Shikamaru, unseen to Hayami as she stared with wonder at her uninjured arm, had connected also. "It feels stifling, like when you're standing too close to a campfire. And more like a persons shadow than an objects, like it should be moving. But it feels wrong"

"Why does it feel wrong?"

"I don't know"

"Stop being lazy and tell me why it feels wrong"

Hayami should have laughed, finding amusement in the apathetic nature of both men, but she was hardly listening - too fascinated by the way it to felt to _her_. It was fire, hot and smoking and raw, but as she let herself slide into an almost meditative state those emotions dropped, and she returned to feeling light, and fast, and strong through the ability. She wanted to pump it into her legs and run, or into her arms and spar with Gai, to feel this powerful lightness in action once more.

"-ami?"

She looked up, realising that she'd completely zoned out of their conversation. "Yes?"

"Are you alright? We lost you for a second there"

"Oh, sorry, I was...it doesnt feel as bad anymore"

His eyebrow rose, and he watched her intently, his shadow still connected to hers. "It doesn't?"

"No, the longer I hold it the less it burns"

"Interesting. Lower your arm for me"

She nodded, lowering it to the floor and marvelling at how muted the cool temperature of the floor felt against the arm, as opposed to her bare feet. He made a hand sign and she watched intently as her arm moved entirely without her intent, the limb entirely succumbing to the shadow users control.

"Next test Hayami, are you ready?" Shikaku asked, and she nodded. "I need you to lower your arm again, and this time imagine one of your fingers moving into the shadow on the floor. Just one finger, okay?"

She nodded, and collected her thoughts, once more imagining the digit moving into the shadow. She groaned with frustration as the tip of her finger hit the cool floor once more, bending back slightly as it refused to slide in.

"Try and get back to that headspace you were in a minute ago." She locked eyes with him and nodded before dropping her lids, blocking out the room and visualising the feeling with more force. It would be easy, just like before. The shadow would be cool, and comforting, and feel as natural as air as her body shifted into it's unknown depths. She pressed down again, and groaned aloud as it once again only bent backwards a little.

"Take your time Hayami, don't rush"

Hayami shifted her breathing, allowing herself to slowly slip into a true meditative state. She focused on the sensation of her lungs filling and expelling the air until that's all she could feel. Everything around her melted away, until it was just her and her breathing and the ability circling within her like an unfamiliar storm; dangerous and peaceful, but beautiful. She had so many worries, constantly circling within her: the ability and whether she'd ever be able to master it, Satoru's plans and what they meant for her friends and town, Inoki's disapproval, whether she should have just continued on as an assassin, whether her friends and family were safe...the constant and unwavering worry that she wasn't as accomplished as she should be for a ninja of 23…

It had been too long since she meditated. She felt the worries slide from her, and with it, her limb into the floor below. Opening her eyes, she saw that Shikamaru was asleep, and Shikaku watching her carefully. Her entire hand was submerged into the shadow beneath her, far surpassing her objective of a single digit.

"Well done"

She nodded, proud. "Thankyou"

"Now we just need to do that without half an hour of focus, because you'll be killed in the field with that sort of ability delay. I'm going to try and remove your hand from the shadow"

She watched. The shadows had lengthened since she'd arrived, and he concentrated, his shadow feeling chilled as it prodded at the joints of her fingers. The sensation was strange, like being wrapped in a chilled ribbon. She was relieved as her hand raised from the floor without any further effort on her part.

"Good" Shikaku began. "I can lift you from the shadows. I didn't lift your arm, I could feel all the way to the tip of your fingers. We can work on larger parts of your body without worrying that we might lose you" he laughed, groaning as he stood.

"We also know a weakness now. Shadow users can feel you, and will be able to pull you out of hiding if you're not careful"

She nodded, understanding easily the double edged sword that the ability offered her.


	36. Chapter 36

Authors note -

We're buying a house - it's coming together and it's so exciting!

Also, who else is playing monster hunter? It's amazing; i love a game that you can just jump into for an hour or two, don't you :)

Also, just for our new readers, I'm on twitter as Oraeliaa, I do tweet on there about the story, and retweet stuff - you can also message me there and it's a good way to find out if i'm ill/in another place/unable to post ect, and I just like talking to people so feel free to HMU!

* * *

Satoru walked through the chilled corridors, taking comfort in the familiarity of it all. These cold, rotting walls were nothing compared to the riches he'd grown up with, and a shocking contrast to how he knew they looked many hundreds of years before. It had always felt fitting to him, to bring these people here, to take something crumbling and ruined and revisit it into his success.

And he would be successful.

Everything was aligning exactly as he wished; the pieces falling into place perfectly.

They say that the culprit always returns to the scene of the crime, but really; returning, in this case was the best possible course of action. He knew that he was a creature of habit, he liked things to be just so. It would have taken so long to take everything out of this ruin and move it elsewhere - so many hours and so much wasted money. When Hayami broke out, taking the others with her, she hadn't thought to travel further underground, racing straight upwards towards the sun.

Stupid.

He smirked, pausing at the combination door. He'd taken the redheaded boy as bait; knowing it would lure her to him - and he'd happily admit that he'd hoped to make a profit by selling the ninja on afterwards; and hadn't expected them to escape. But they hadn't travelled further than they had to, hadn't taken the time to find as much out as they could - and that would leave them at a serious disadvantage now.

Scuffling and dragging echoed behind him and he span the door lock, opening it and gesturing for his people to follow. And they were his people, he'd made sure of _that_ after Takayuki's little...mutiny. He ruled absolute, and had been enforcing that with a particular passion and drive as of late. This area was special, and secret. And not letting Takayuki in on it was turning out to be the best choice he'd ever made. If anyone wondered why he was barely in the camp anymore, they didn't ask - the last time someone tried, he beat them so severely that he was never asked again. Takayuki was too compliant to push, and Satoru was glad for that, knowing that if the young man had continued to push he may have very well been tempted to test him, to see if he could be let in on this secret.

A secret which he no doubt would have already divulged to his new friends…

"The strange thing, about running business of people, is that people don't tend to query where you get your merchandise. Sure, about 20% you kidnap, and break, and sell. That's what people expect" He said, talking merrily at the beaten figure being dragged in by two of his men.

Trusted men.

Expendable men.

"And there's the 40 to 50%, that you buy. Trained workers, trained slaves, trained gladiators, used to getting a crowd riled up and ready for blood. They live above ground, work as mercenaries within my band. You don't need to worry too much about them as long as you do as you're told"

They paused, and he slid the key into the lock, twisting and opening the cell door.

"This is your new home" he spoke clearly, gesturing for the two men to throw him within. "A doctor will be through soon to fix you up. You will make up the final 30%. Your family have a strong genetic line, do you know that?"

"I...um"

"No, I suppose you don't. Or maybe you do, I don't care. What you're going to do for me, is give me your DNA. I will sell your children to those who wish to raise children with strong bloodline abilities, raise them to fight within my arena, as my father did before me, or if you fail to prove your worth; throw you in the ring myself"

The figure coughed, blood splattering outwards. Satoru sighed, wiping the tip of his shoe against the fabric on the back of his opposite leg.

"Do you know how to fight?"

The figure answered. "I'm a ninja"

"Perfect, lets see if you can work for your freedom, perhaps up to the upper levels".

He leaned forwards, resting his palm against the shoulder of the prisoner, and released a quick burst of electric chakra; causing him to convulse until he collapsed. "All of you, clean your new cellmate up. Inspection in 10".

The corridor was long as he returned down it's length, and filled with the noise of the hundreds of prisoners that lived down here as they rushed to become inspection ready. Men, women, children. They all belonged to him, their offspring belonged to him, and he'd use them to get his revenge soon enough.

The stairs were well hidden, and tight. They came upwards into the dungeon, and he paused momentarily before the cell that contained his little traitor.

He'd kill her soon enough.

* * *

The shelter had been taken down much more easily than it had gone up, and although they'd lost three ropes in the night from the wind, they'd thankfully stayed in the air. Especially as they realised the following morning that the measurement had been distorted lightly by a droplet of rain, and it should have been 3ft off the floor, not more than 6.

It would have been both shocking and painful had they fallen.

"Sensei, why were we even taking gems to a mine? Surely they come from the mine?" Lee asked as they walked ahead, wet coats cold and uncomfortable against their matching jumpsuits.

"I'm not sure, you'll have to ask him when we go to let him know it got there safely"

"I will do! When we get home, how do you want to switch up our training?"

Behind the two, Neji and Tenten once again walked a few paces behind, laughing as their sensei and friends conversation got more and more animated. Every so often, Neji's hand bumped her own, and Tenten had gone from ignoring it to seriously considering giving him a sideways glance. She allowed the action for now though, curious where it was going if it was intentional.

She'd had him on the brain since the night before anyway, or more so, his words. Though she did have to admit they'd come from perfectly formed lips. Finally, after considering it for the entire morning and quite a bit of their continued downhill trec, she spoke. "What did you mean last night, about Inoki-sama being missing-nin?"

"She isn't missing nin" he stated, and she wanted to groan at his lack of continued explanation.

"I know that. What did you mean about the gossip you heard. I want to know more"

"Oh. I overheard two of the main house members talking, and they said she was dangerous, that she had dangerous connections and went to unfavourable sources for information and resources"

"Like who?"

"I don't know, they didn't say any names"

"Urgh that's not helpful!"

"...sorry"

She tutted. "No, no, not your fault. I'm interested though, I mean can you _imagine_ it?"

"I can imagine it. People use people, it's what happens"

Tenten pulled a face at his matter-of-fact words. "Grim, Neji. I mean knowing though, that you were given to your sensei to stop them going rogue"

"Maybe they don't know" he suggested

"They have to know! I can't imagine them not knowing, they're too close to her"

He was quiet for a few moments before answering "Then maybe they just don't mind. Or maybe it's not true"

"I guess…there is another thing though"

It was neji's turn to look at her now, wondering where she was going with that sentence, and in such a quiet tone. "What?"

"What if they're all rogue? What if they're in on it, that they know all the rogue ninja in our bingo books and are in on it themselves?"

He looked at her for a second in disbelief before she couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "I'm joking Neji! Honestly, can you imagine Hayami doing literally anything bad?"

They laughed together for a second, and he scuffed his foot slightly against the sodden earth as he thought over what he wanted to do, internally grimacing as the mud splattered up his once pristine white trousers. He wanted to just ask her, he knew it would be easy. Gai and Lee were out of earshot, they were laughing together...He took in a deep yet shallow breath, steeling himself to ask .

And was interrupted by a sudden torrent of rain. Tenten screamed in shock, and their eyes met. Should he ask her now? Wasn't rain supposed to be romantic?

"Tenten?"

She looked at him through her already sodden fringe. "What?" she all but snapped "Urgh, i'm sorry, but can you believe this rain?"

"I…"

"Spit it out Neji! I'm getting soaked here"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter"

She looked at him, obviously confused. "Alright...let's run and catch up with the others. I can't wait to get home and have a hot bath"

They got to the town in record time, passing along the confirmation of a completed mission.

"Fantastic" the site manager whined, clapping as he stood from his desk and towards the safe to the rear of the office. "The rain didn't slow you down too much?"

Gai shook his head. "Nothing my team couldn't handle"

"Wonderful. We've had so many teams fail through terrain problems; it's why we have to put this through as a B class mission. I do have to ask though, your team don't normally do B class". He sat back down at the desk. "Why the change?"

"You've done your research" Neji interrupted, not sure why the man's words made him so uncomfortable.

"You've just carried a perfect example gem up to my mine; I had to know I trusted you not to steal it or be defeated if you were attacked. I'll call on you next time, if you're still wanting to pick up short term missions"

Tenten quickly spoke before the others could stick their feet in it. "That would be wonderful, thank you so much". She stuck her hand out for the scroll, and promptly dragged the others from the room and back into the pouring rain. "Let's get back to Konoha, people. I've got a hot springs trip with Hayami to look forward to before we go to the festival; and i'd like to get out of this troublesome rain"

Lee laughed, "You sound like Shikamaru!"

She slugged forwards, purposefully slouching and shoving her hands in her pockets. "Everything is bothersome, i'm so smart"; and the others snorted. She span, eyeing Gai up. "What are you wearing to the festival Gai?"

"Oh. I don't know, is this not alright?" he asked gesturing to his usual jumpsuit.

Lee and Tenten spoke at once. "Of course it is!" "Not in the slightest".

The older man looked towards the three. Lee looked positive, Tenten looked horrified, and Neji mainly just looked amused, nodding before joining in the discussion. "You need a yukata"

Gai laughed. "Okay, okay, I need a yukata. I'll buy one. Will you help me pick one?"

The three nodded. Tenten mimiced his signature thumbs up - "I'll find out what colour Hayami's wearing so you won't clash"

Gai nodded before bowing dramatically. "Thankyou!"

* * *

"What are you going to tell him then?"

Hayami looked up, eyeing Jun over her breakfast congee. "Pardon?"

"When you leave, after the festival? What are you going to tell Gai?"

She groaned, shaking her head. She was being honest, she had absolutely no idea where to even begin telling him everything she'd need to, in order to explain...well...any of this. "I have no idea"

He contemplated her for a few moments, watching as she continued to delicately ate the soft rice. "Well, as I see it, you have two options"

"Go on"

"You tell him the truth, or you lie"

She pushed the food away, suddenly losing her appetite. Honestly, the anxiety surrounding this had been killing her. He pushed it back towards her. "Eat, you're still too thin. I'll slice you some persimmon to go alongside". He stood from the table and headed towards the fridge, turning back and gesturing when he realised he couldn't hear the sound of her spoon in the bowl.

"I can't tell him the truth, but I don't want to lie"

"You're going for the half truth then? Sticking with 'we're going to see my uncle'?"

"I suppose so, what other options do I have? Really? 'Bye Gai, see you in a couple of months, going to hang out with some enemies of Konoha!"

"I mean I'd go with different wording perhaps, perhaps a little more explanation"

She pushed the bowl away again and he shook his head, replacing the half eaten rice with the sweet, sliced fruit. "I heard you throwing up again this morning"

"It's not happening every day anymore, just the odd morning. It's the pain medication I guess"

He hummed. "How is your arm?"

She nodded, smiling tensely "Getting there. Looking forward to having these pins out"

"Then you better eat so I can get you to the hospital. You heard Shizune, one final check and if she's happy with it today they'll take them out"

Hayami nodded, shoving the fruit into her mouth in an attempt to please him. She honestly couldn't wait for this thing to be off, to be able to wear normal clothes again, to be able to use both of her arms without pain again.

...To be able to stop taking the nauseating pain killers as soon as humanly possible. Jun smiled into his coffee as the small woman rushed around the house like an excited teen. Whatever she went with, he couldn't imagine Gai minding much, as sickening as they were together.


	37. Chapter 37

Hey everyone - happy valentines day for tomorrow! And galentines day today

* * *

"You're certain we've been going the right way today then?"

Inoki looked up from her meal, visibly irritated. "Hikaru, seriously, how many times do I have to answer this question? Yes we are going the right way, but the entrance is hidden"

Hikaru laughed, poking at the fire with his stick. "Hibe's so paranoid!" he laughed. It wasn't often that he had time completely alone with his mentor, and he enjoyed it. Of course, she'd been in a rather prickly mood since leaving, and he knew for a fact it was because Hayami had _finally_ stood up for herself. And so...he'd cracked jokes, he'd teased her for wearing her nicer mission clothes, caught them fresh fish and set up camp whilst she scouted their location to ensure they were safe.

They were close to the land of water, and even here, in the grassy area, they could smell the salt of the sea. The clearing was secluded, tucked in under a sheer cliff that was slick with the heavy rain the area often got, but they were blessed today with a dry evening. Laying back, with a full stomach and a warm heart, he wished they spent more time outside of the town, like they used to. After a childhood of trekking, of seeing everything their wonderful country had to offer, it was constricting to be in Konoha for longer than a couple of weeks.

"Hikaru?"

He looked towards her, through the smoke of the fire.

"There's something that i've been wanting to talk to you about for some time now"

"You're considering finally adopting me, and proving to the others that i'm your favourite"

She laughed, "I don't play favourites, and i'd adopt all three of you but you're too old...But...what I wanted to discuss with you, is whether you've ever considered taking on students?"

He looked at her for a second through wide eyes before bursting out laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes as he coughed; unable to breathe. He sighed, before catching her eyes again and pausing dead. "You're not joking?"

"Not particularly, no"

He stood, wiping his trousers down and moving over to dramatically flop next to her; resting his head affectionately on her shoulder. It was slimmer than he remembered, but then again he often forgot that she wasn't their young sensei anymore.

"You really think I could take students?"

She paused before answering. "Obviously Jun would be the more traditional choice; but seeing young Maito with those three has had me thinking"

"No. _Nonono_. I'm not like him Inoki" he insisted. "I'm cool"

She cocked an eyebrow. "So cool that you have to tell me you're cool?"

He glared, pouting. "I'm not like him"

She smirked. "I'll ask him and young Lee where they get their outfits from, you'll fit right in"

"I am _personally_ offended"

She chuckled, patting his head affectionately. "No, I mean he's an interesting fellow"

"That's one word for it"

"Hush, he makes Hayami very happy" she chastised

"Doesn't mean I approve of his wardrobe" he chuckled in response.

"Anyway" she stressed, "he's like you in that he's cheerful, and silly; but still an excellent ninja. I feel like it took many months for me to learn how to act around you youngsters"

"...no, of course not…"

"Don't lie to me, you know it's pointless. When you and Jun helped teach those three some of your abilities, as Hayami was doing, you in particular clicked with them instantly"

"They're good kids" he argued, "Tenten in particular is fantastic". Confused by her silence he turned, taking in Inoki's very pointed stare for a second before snorting, and continuing "God Inoki, not like _that_. She's a fantastic ninja with those weapons of hers. And the stoic one, Hyuuga, is possibly one of the best ninja i've ever seen. And Lee - outfits aside, have you ever felt his leg weights? I made him take them off once and i've never seen anyone move that fast"

"Exactly. Do you know that they didn't want Lee to be a ninja?"

He looked at her through furrowed brows. "Who? What? The kids amazing"

"The same people who felt I was too much of a threat to the village to be able to continue as I was"

" _Ahh_ "

"Indeed" she chuckled. "But Gai, with his antics and his sunny disposition, he took those three as they were and raised a group of incredible ninja - I feel you could do the same. You're personable, you're easygoing and fun - do you remember how scared you were when you first had to kill someone?"

He was silent for a moment, pulling up strands of the grass and ripping them as he spoke. "...Of course I do"

"Do you remember how badly I handled that?"

He laughed, throwing some of the grass onto her lap. "You mean you didn't feel 'well, get used to it' was a good response, in hindsight?"

She shook her head. "No, whilst it was what you needed to hear, I definitely could have gone about it differently. I think you'd be better at that side of things. As annoyed with her as I am, I'm glad in a way that Hayami hasn't come, as it means i'm getting to have this conversation with you sooner. I want to put you forward to have a trio of your own in the coming years"

He stared, shocked, at the fire. "Do I get training, or something?"

She snorted. "I didn't"

"They'll just give me three impressionable children and tell me not to get them killed?"

"Basically"

He was terrified, and told her as such.

"You'll do it then?" she responded, smiling.

"Yeah I guess so, I mean we turned out alright and we were raised amongst bingo list ninja and deserters"

"Yeah" she smiled, pulling the pot off the fire and spooning another cup of the fish soup. "I did a good job with you three"

* * *

Turning her hand in the air, Hayami couldn't help but smile; causing Jun to laugh and push on her shoulder. "Stop putting your hand in my face!"

"No, it's so perfect - just look at it!"

He shook his head, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and guiding her forwards. "Perhaps I should have left you in there til the pain killers wore off" he laughed.

"It was caged, but now...now it's not"

"Well done, yes"

"It's just _not_ , you know"

"...you're very chatty on pain-killers, aren't you?"

"Now I can wear a normal kimono, Tamiko's going to be so happy"

She skipped out his grip and ran; causing him to curse and follow suit. She was going remarkably fast, and he made a note to mention it to her. If it wasn't chakra she was using it was definitely _something_. She took a hard left, then a right, and he had to focus on not running into anyone with the speed she was travelling. What was this?

She finally skidded to a stop, hurtling towards a window display. She stopped just before, peering in for a second - pressing her face against the glass until she spotted what she wanted and grinning. She aggressively waved at their friend; who merely looked slightly startled as she dressed the window mannequin. She waved gingerly, and mouthed 'she okay?' at Jun, who nodded, following the green haired ninja into the store.

Hayami had already launched herself at the small brunette, enveloping Tamiko in her arms. "I dont have the cage anymore Tam"

Tamiko laughed awkwardly, embracing her friend. "You alright Hayami? Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying this, but you're normally a lot more reserved…"

Hayami merely psshed, and moved away towards the kimono's at the front, sliding her bandaged hand back in the sling and gently touching the printed fabrics with reverence.

"She's had the pins taken out" Jun explained. "They cant use any chakra healing, and they've not done a procedure like that in decades, so they gave her an incredibly strong painkiller"

"Ahhh". That explained a lot. Tamiko recalled the hundreds of times she witnessed the mercenaries giving someone far too much liquor before attending to whatever injury they had, and giggled at how obviously out of it her friend was. "Look, she's still making sure to keep her hand in the sling though; she's not completely out of it"

"She was waving it in my face a few minutes ago"

"Lucky you" she laughed. "I take it she's not doing her fitting today then?"

"Would you like to try and strip her down, put her in a complicated Kimono?"

The two watched her flitting between accessories, very slowly bringing the plastic flowers up towards her face and then resting them perfectly in place.

"Maybe not...gives me an extra day to finish the sleeve embroidery though, so there's that"

He nodded, reaching towards his old friend and attempting to extract her from the display of hairpins. "She'll be round Thursday evening, do you want to send a message to Kurenai and Shizune or shall I?"

She waved into the air. "I'll do it - I think they were planning to bring a bottle of wine, so she definitely can't have any of that tonight"

He laughed under his breath as he exited the store, Hayami's hand firmly in his own. "No. That's not happening. Bye Tamiko"

"Wait!"

He turned, confused. "Do you...do you have a date for the festival?"

He looked at her for a second before slowly shaking his head. "I'm flattered Tamiko, but you're more than a little young for me"

She blanched. "No. No, gosh I didn't mean that" She scratched at the back of her neck. "I have someone I want to ask, anyway. I was just curious, as I know….well I um…"

He sighed, visibly relieved. He wasn't Hikaru, and had very strict rules regarding who he dated. "You sound like Hayami"

"Ha, I suppose I do. I'll just be passing on the message that you're flying solo to someone else"

He nodded. "You do that, as long as they're a similar age to me"

"Hear you loud and clear Jun!"

He exited, and she groaned, putting her head in her hands. "Loud and clear? Who says that? And _god_ he thought I was coming onto him? Ugh…"

* * *

Jun looked up from his book, quickly removing the glasses that he was determined the others wouldn't find out about just yet; sliding them into his pocket as he walked towards the door.

He opened it and stepped aside, gesturing for Gai to come straight in. "I appreciate you using the door Gai, but-"

"Hayami explained why it could be seen as weird" he interrupted, laughing and shoving up a thumb "I fully understand that the door is more appropriate!"

Sighing he rubbed his face and patted the other man on the shoulder. "I'm glad that message has been relayed. You two aren't teenagers though, and you don't need to sneak into her room. However, at this time of night, you can just go up"

"Is it late?"

Jun just looked at him. Who on earth was this man and where had Hayami even found him? "Gai it's one in the morning"

"Oh...is it?"

" _Yes"_

"Is Hayami awake?"

"No, but i'm under no pretenses about you two - please just go up" he sighed "i'm feeling too much like her father right now"

Gai smiled, and Jun's eyes widened as Gai mimicked his own action from before, resting a hand firmly against Jun's shoulder. "I'm glad she has you looking out for her"

Jun watched Gai's retreating form up the stairs, unable to avoid watching as his jumpsuit pulled tight over his ass with each step. As much as he hated to admit it, that was quite possibly the best ass he'd ever seen - it was...unimaginably firm.

He could see it now, why she said she used to watch him work out.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he got it…

Gai opened the door slowly, creeping around the wood and removing his shoes, ashamed that he'd forgotten to before now. It was a wonder Jun had let him up the stairs...His jumpsuit came next, which he put in the laundry before moving through to her en suite; not bothering to let the water heat up before stepping under the shower head, and gritting his teeth to ensure he didn't cry out.

He wanted to just climb into bed, to cuddle up and get cosy, but knew she'd pout in the morning when she realised he'd gotten into the bed all grimy. He was touched to see his own bodywash in the shower, which he'd not bought and brought over; and smiled, knowing he'd never met anyone before with such an incredible attention to detail.

The complete opposite of him.

He dried off and pulled his hair back using one of her soft headbands; honestly he couldn't believe he'd never experienced these things before spending time at Hayami's house. It went alongside eye lotion, face masks and colour coded stationary as things he'd never really known about before being invited into this wonderful, incredibly tidy place.

He rubbed the lavender eye cream in as he crept back into the bedroom, silently moving over to the dresser in the far corner to grab some of his pajamas; pulling them and gently sliding under the covers. She mumbled slightly in her sleep, and he couldn't help but laugh at the drool down the side of her face, just visible in the shaft of moonlight gently illuminating the room. It was cold in the bedroom, and he shimmied closer, smiling at her sigh of contentment as his arm wrapped around her waist.

* * *

Days, they'd spent getting here.

Days

They'd walked through rain, and fought off an attack from some bandits who stupidly thought that the old woman and young man were an easy target.

They'd then taken anything of worth from the bodies and dragged them back to the camp, and dealt with the others who were there.

They'd found the secret entrance, climbed down a slippery ladder, and then traversed an easy mile of dark, slightly smelly tunnels.

 _And he wasn't home._

Hikaru wanted to scream.

And he didn't even _know_ this person.

"Hey, where's...oh what was he called" Hikaru muttered, scuffing the ground with his heel as he thought. "Jirubu? Jirobu….Jirobo? That's the one! Where Jirobo, or Ukon?"

The stranger looked at him blankly. "Dead"

"Damn shame, I liked Jirobo! And what about the cute-"

"Enough, Hikaru" Inoki snapped, rubbing at her forehead. "Look, just let us in - he'll be expecting us"

"He told us there would be three" the young man responded.

"How does he always know…" Hikaru muttered.

"Because he's a genius" the attendant responded, turning to walk away. "Now leave, how are we supposed to know you're the correct people with only two?"

Inoki quickly made a hand seal, and the person stopped in their tracks, gently reaching forwards to touch the chakra barrier ahead of them. "Fine, come with me. He'll take care of you himself if you're not wanted"

Inoki smirked, knowing the person before her would likely be dead the moment her old friend heard about this little incident. "Indeed he will"


	38. Chapter 38

Authors note -

I dont know whether you read these, but if so here's an update -

I'm going to try and get back to a weekly update schedule, as it helps me keep on top of the plot. I've decided to finish this story before posting Collided, but I am still writing it in the background. Because it has to be canon compliant to where Thor starts, its taking more planning and editing.

Because i'm creating Niflheim from scratch, including different races, civilisations, religions and cultural traditions and festivals, that's taking a considerable amount of planning!

 _Why do i do this to myself_

Hope you all enjoy the chapter, especially as we move towards plot city again!

Reviews are always appreciated! x

* * *

Jun was having a rather strange day

It began when he awoke to find a half dressed Gai in his kitchen, following the his late night entrance.

Now he had to admit, the man had quite possibly the most chiseled abs he'd ever seen in his life, and in his half asleep state he'd had to pull himself together quite a bit. The older ninja's hair was pulled back from his face with one of Hayami thick cotton headbands, redeeming his usual bowlcut, and his pajama bottoms hung just a little bit low.

He was sexy.

And then he'd turned and handed Jun a hot coffee; and he near-as-dammit mounted the man.

"You can stay" he'd decided, after the first sip.

"I'm sorry for coming in so late" Gai replied, cringing slightly.

Jun shook his head, focusing on keeping his eyes firmly on Gai's. "It's fine, I was up anyway"

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No, nothing like that. I promised Hayami I'd read over her scouting proposal, and it's taken a few days"

Gai laughed. "Was it roughly the thickness of your outstretched hand?"he asked; causing Jun to chuckle and shake his head. "twice that"

The two chuckled; each knowing what she was like when she got into a project.

"How was she when you went to bed last night?"

Gai smiled as he spoke. "Flat out. She mumbled at me then fell straight back to sleep"

Jun nodded, remembering how he'd practically had to carry her up the stairs the night before. He stood, wincing as the chair squeaked, and turned towards the stairs. And then paused. And then turned back to Gai.

"Where have those come from?"

Gai yawned, and looked at him confusedly. "hmm?"

"...That, Gai. That very large basket of fruit"

"Oh..."

Gai truthfully hadn't noticed it til now, but there it was on the front room table. His face scrunched as he tried to remember whether he'd seen anyone that morning. "Tamiko was here earlier, I think I heard Kuso too - maybe they brought it?"

Jun turned, confused. This man was supposed to be a ninja, and an incredibly well respected ninja at that,his eccentricities aside. "...you had to think about that?"

"Well I didn't see them, but I heard their voices" he defended, reaching forward for a peach as Jun carried the basket to the table. "Is there a note?"

"No"

"Probably for Hayami then" Gai guessed with a grin, moving their cups into the sink and heading back upstairs. His girlfriend was so likeable, it made complete sense to him that her friends would deliver baskets of fruit.

Jun however, watched Gai leave before turning back to the basket. Something was wrong with it; it just didn't feel right. Two strange things in one morning was just a bad omen...he'd have to see if Tsunade had any sudden bouts of luck.

He reached for the basket, but brought his outstretched arm back in. _Best see if Gai collapses before eating any of that…_ he thought as he left; latching his weapons and moving out to deliver his own reports to Tsunade. If it was poisoned, at least he hadn't eaten any. He yawned as he stepped out into the frosty morning air. Between his own work, and Hayami's work, he was exhausted. He was lucky he'd had any sleep at all the night before, but was just relieved he'd not heard a peep from Hayami's room. He shuddered at the thought...

He couldn't remember the last time he'd pulled a paperwork all nighter like that, or as near to it as he got anyway. Whatever was going on, he wasn't certain, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd been given so many missions. Of course, spread out between the three of them it wasn't so bad, and he'd weeded out the easiest ones; or the ones requiring a group - leaving them for the Anbu. The three of them only really worked on the hardest ones; and he'd have to wait for Hayami to back in the field to be able to take on the group ones...they needed her skill set to ensure their own safety.

It wasn't that he didn't _trust_ the anbu to watch his back like his sister did...but…

He just didn't feel as safe.

* * *

"I'm still so mortified" Hayami groaned, turning on the pedestal so Tamiko could pin the end of her kimono. The younger woman laughed, prodding her friend gently and laughing even harder at her yelp of surprise. "Don't be stupid, it was funny. I'll cherish the memory"

"I can't even remember it properly!" the green haired ninja moaned, putting her head in her hands.

"I wish i'd seen it" Kurenai pouted, sipping on her drink and lounging on the sofa. It was dark outside, and if they'd have opened the curtains at the front of the store they would have seen the festival being set up; large, brightly coloured lanterns being strung across the street. "I've only ever seen you giddy when you've over indulged on the sake" the older woman teased, and Hayami twisted round to mock glare at her old friend.

"Before yesterday, I would have said I couldn't imagine you drunk" Tamiko teased, words slightly muffled by the pins held in the corner of her mouth. "I can see it now though, I can imagine you pulling out all of your notation stickers and just gently rubbing them against your face, promising them that they'll be used soon enough"

Kurenai snorted her wine outwards, swearing as she shot up to get a cloth. "That's amazing Tamiko, I can just see it now. Ring binders out of their colour coded positions, their specially allocated pens and stickers being moved between them; like a child marrying off her dolls!"

"Organising Gai's weights by brand and weight" Tamiko continued

"Making sure they're perfectly parallel to the wall!"

"Okay, okay" Hayami interrupted. "That's enough, you're both being insane"

"...we are?" Tamiko asked, giving her a look from where she was crouched.

"Yes... They're organised by material and then heaviest at the bottom, obviously"

The three fell about laughing; Hayami rolling her eyes. They were being ridiculous though, and Gai had been very thankful when he saw that she'd given each pair their own coloured bands at the end, to make it more obvious at a glance which two went together.

...things in pairs should stay in pairs; like shoes, and socks, and weights.

It just made sense that way!

Tamiko sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You're all done!"

Hayami caught sight of herself in the mirror and gasped. She turned slowly, shaking her head. She'd worn kimono and yukata before, and the one the boys had given her would always hold a special place in her heart, but this was truly beautiful. Made to fit her perfectly, it was cream, with soft blue and pink hydrangea blossoms scattered across it. The obi across the centre was blush pink, with a blue tie across the centre.

She span, arms outstretched, and was mesmerised as the light caught the small embroidered stems Tamiko had added to the fabric . "Oh Tamiko, it's beautiful"

The seamstress stood, rolling her shoulders to ease the ache that had settled there. "It is, isn't it. I've not done a heavy amount of embroidery, but I didn't have a huge amount of time. I'll get it hemmed and pick out the blue and pink under layers, so you don't freeze, and it'll be ready for the weekend! Now, go shuffle over there and pick out a matching hair piece whilst I fit Kurenai"

Hayami saluted the assertive young woman, stepping towards the accessory display at the back of the room. They were lovely, but she hadn't decided yet whether she was going to tie her hair up or leave it down...She took her time, investigating each of the pieces, feeling the texture, looking at the fastening type, imagining how each would look. She didn't notice as the door opened; and didn't turn until she heard the cough behind her.

She turned, surprised, and smiled when she found herself face to face with Kuso. Looking past him, she gave Daisuki a wave, truly happy to see them both. It had been at least 2 weeks since she'd last seen Daisuki properly, save for waving at each other as they passed on opposite sides of the road, and it had been a few days since she'd last seen Kuso, when they'd gone to the market together. She looked back at the man in question, and was surprised when his arms encircled her. She stiffened slightly, shocked at the sudden affection, and looked over to see the shock reciprocated by the other three in the room. She patted him on the back, awkwardly, and firmly stepped backwards, out of his grasp.

"Hello, Kuso"

"Hayami"

His smile was infectious, that much was true, but she couldn't help the awkwardness that lingered within her. She wasn't particularly huggy, and was completely taken aback by the gesture.

"What are you looking at?" he continued, and she turned towards the display case, glad to have the conversation removed from her hands. Her awkward, awkward hands.

"Hair pieces and jewellry. I don't really know much about this things though, so I'll probably just let Tamiko pick" she laughed, trying to figure out which would work for the colours of the kimono.

His fingers gently brushed against hers as she lifted a clip from the stand, and she dropped it, wincing as it hit the floor. She couldn't bend properly in the kimono, but luckily didn't have to as he bent for her, picking it up and attempting to move it towards her hair, smile dropping as she once more firmly stepped backwards. He was acting very peculiarly

She focused, seeing if she could smell beer in the air. It was late, they'd been enjoying a bottle of wine; and whilst she knew Daisuki was dropping off a package for Tamiko, and some dessert; she was sure she had smelt beer on Kuso. Much as they'd been joking earlier, perhaps he was just an affectionate drunk.

It would make sense of his behaviour.

But really, making sense didn't create an excuse. Twice in roughly 5 minutes he had now made her more than a little uncomfortable, and she couldnt control her stammer as her confusion showed itself. "K...Kuso what a-are you doing?"

He looked...resolute, and she didn't understand. "Hayami what's wrong?"

"I...I"

"Can I talk to you outside?" he asked, and honestly didn't know what to say. She looked towards the others, who were looking at the two with...pity? Was she being pitiful? Was her reaction to this wrong? Was he just being friendly?

She nodded, and lifted the pinned kimono so as to not trip as she shuffled out of the room.

"Poor kid" Kurenai muttered as the two were out of earshot.

"I've tried telling him" Daisuki replied, settling himself down in one of the plush, pink armchairs and accepting the offered wine. "Let's give them 10"

Outside, the air was chill, especially without a jacket, and she felt her arm throb.

"You know why I want to talk to you" Kuso began, and honestly Hayami could only shake her head.

"Not really, I'm afraid"

"I think you've made a mistake Hayami"

She furrowed her eyebrows, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Yes. I-"

"Evening Hayami!"

The two turned, and Hayami brightened, waving happily at Lee and Naruto. "You look beautiful!" the green clad ninja shouted, and Hayami blushed, laughing gently.

"Thank you Lee!"

He gave her a thumbs up as Naruto laughed loudly, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away, and she felt some of her worries dissipate as she watched them leave. Lee was such a good young man, so energetic and sweet.

"He's right you know"

"P...pardon?"

"You do look beautiful"

It was odd, Hayami would wonder later, inside with the girls, how the same sentiment could make someone feel so different coming from different people. From Lee, the words made her feel light and happy; but from Kuso, she was struck with the startling realisation that she desperately didn't want to have this conversation with someone that she considered a friend. It was in the tone, in the gentle warmth and sincerity behind his words.

"Kuso…"

"Hayami, I need to tell you that I think Gai is a mistake".

He took her stoney silence as an invitation to continue.

"It's not because he's mean or a bad person, but he's too old for you, he's very strange and the truth is i've been fascinated by you since the desert. I always thought you were remarkably pretty in the camp, but in the desert you came alive. I've been captivated by you ever since"

She was taken aback. She tried to look back, to see if there were any signs, but apart from his strange dislike of Gai she couldn't see it. He'd been kind and genuine, but so were many of her friends"

"I…" she began, but he interrupted, moving in closer as she moved back.

"Come to the festival with me instead Hayami. I was going to wait but seeing you tonight, looking so lovely". His hand came up, and his fingers tangled in her hair; and that was as far as she'd let this go.

"I'm sorry Kuso but no. you're my friend and that's it"

His face dropped, and he stepped backwards. "But I thought…"

"I'm sorry if I led you on in any way but i'm in love with Gai, and nothing is going to change that. I understand if you don't want to be friends but I'm afraid that's all we're ever going to be"

He looked confused briefly before nodding. "I understand".

She watched him walk away, feeling heartbroken by his sadness. By his obvious confusion. By her own obliviousness. She stayed there for a while, letting the cold chill her through the thin fabric, going over all their interactions, every smile, every casual touch on the arm or situation where he moved to stand closer. Market days and basic combat training and meetings with them all to glean any information about Satoru they could. Not that she knew she could almost see it, and wished she'd seen it sooner so she could...discourage it or _something_

She walked back into the shop, half noticing the way the others stopped quiet when she came in alone.

It was Daisuki that spoke first. "Has the lad left?"

She could only nod.

"I'll go after him" he said, standing and patting her on the head as he passed. "Don't beat yourself up kid."

The air was cold as the door opened once more, and Kurenai stepped forwards, her own, unpinned black and red kimono trailing on the floor behind her. "Bet you wish you'd gone see your uncle now, eh?"

She shook her head, laughing sadly with an exhale of breath. "Hebi's great and all, but he's not got your taste in kimonos, Tamiko"

The two smiled at her softly, coming together into a hug. This one was comforting, and she had no problem reciprocating.


	39. Chapter 39

Authors note -

Sorry for the delays, life just keeps happening! I'll have another story ready for you soon though, i'm mulling about with the idea of some short one shots or multi-chapter shorts for different fandoms between the end of this story and the beginning of my revamped Loki one.

I watched shape of water (finally) last night and oh my gosh it's just amazing, and has me so ready to rewatch hellboy and then golden army, and the animated ones, and finally finish off the short bits and pieces I was already playing with to do with Abe and an archeologist witch.

I promise that even though I might be late with a chapter for this, i'm likely writing something on the go

This chapter is fully dedicated to Mikomi :) It's short, and it pure filler, but yeah - enjoy the fluff :D

* * *

It was far too cold to be out, and yet here they were, leaving the house when it was still dark, their breath frosting in the air before them. Hayami was giddy, hand fastened firmly within Gai's as he pulled her from the house, leaving Jun happily tucked in bed next door. It was rare that they didn't stay comfortably within Hayami's house, but when she'd come home the night before, emotional and tired from the events of the day, he'd physically picked her up; giggling as she was lifted and carried through his front door and placed, ever so gently, on top of the kitchen table.

There she'd sat, telling him about the surprises of the day, whilst he fussed around her - quickly throwing together a comforting cup of tea and a curry that quite possibly contained every conceivable item in the kitchen. It was delicious though, and they'd wrapped themselves in blankets and carried it out to the garden, letting the cold wash over them as she worried about her own obliviousness.

He'd kissed her there, in the cold of the outdoors, and she'd shown him her progress with her training so far - melding her limbs into the ground and pulling them back out again with the slightest effort - happily showing off the combined effort of her daily training. They'd both started to dose off outside, only coming back inside as they felt the cold seeping in, and she couldn't help but laugh at his antics. He darted back and forth, collecting weights and laundry that remained scattered throughout the bedroom; but she didn't care. It was his space, and if this was how he was comfortable, then so be it.

Wrapped up warm and cosy in his bed, she didn't mind at all that his weights weren't in order, or that his shoes weren't paired correctly. She noticed, of course, but she didn't _have_ to fix it, the compulsion wasn't there.

It was comforting.

He'd woken her early, climbing back through the window clutching an armful of clothes - cosy ankle boots, her favourite scarf, her best jumper. All the things he'd seen her gently and lovingly care for and wear - and they didn't particularly match, but she'd happily put them on all the same; his enthusiasm driving her to leave the house as quickly as possible, rebandaging her sore arm carefully before sliding on her mittens. And scarf. And hat…

And earmuffs.

She couldn't believe that the oblivious Maito Gai had remembered to grab her _mittens_.

They were out of the door whilst it was still dark, his winter jacket keeping him warm over the jumpsuit. Hand in hand, they moved quickly, into the forest where they'd played in the river all those months ago; and she blushed as she remembered her total obliviousness then too -how many times in her life had she accidentally almost created awkward situations like last night? She must have slowed, as he looked back with confusion; and she simply shook her head - casting the thoughts to one side to focus on her excitement as to where they were going, what he had planned.

It quickly became apparent that they were heading towards the large stone faces that watched over their town - she'd always thought them strange, overbearing; but knew that others in Konoha loved them fiercely. Reaching the base, she couldn't help but feel entirely in awe of the craftsmanship, the sheer size and scope of them in the cliff above her.

And then sadness, an unwanted emotion that entirely overtook the awe, as she realised there was no point gathering her chakra into her feet, that _sure_ she could probably walk into the cliff, but making it to the _top?_

 _It was impossible._

"Hayami"

She turned, eyelashes fluttering away the beginnings of tears as his simple word took her away from those feelings, and she blushed, laughing. He was bent at the waist, arms backwards, and she shook her head. "Gai are you asking me to get on your back?" she queried; trying not to laugh at the fantastic ridiculousness of his pose.

...Trying not to be too obvious as she snuck glances at the way his jumpsuit pulled tight over the tight plains of his thighs and ass.

He stood rapidly, turning with a blinding smile. "You're right". He held his arms outwards, as if inviting her in for a hug. This she easily accepted, no raised eyebrow and a chuckle in her throat. He brought her in tight embrace, sweeping her off her feet quite literally once more, sliding his hands down her back and lifting her as if it were nothing at all - which she supposed it was for him, given his strength. It obviously didn't affect him as much as it affected her; she went bright red as she wrapped her legs around him, but he looked completely non-plussed.

"Hold on!"

She did just that, tightening all four of her limbs as he leapt upwards, his chakra easily sticking his feet to the stone, carrying the two of them up the faces of the hokages, showing more and more of the town to her from her vantage point, eyes peeking out over his muscular shoulder.

They reached the top as the sun rose, exactly on time. She went to move to sit beside him as he flopped onto the ground, but he quickly intercepted, pulling her onto his lap and causing her subsiding blush to come back with gusto. She quickly relaxed though, settling back against him and sighing with happiness as he wrapped his open coat around her slight frame.

"Have you ever watched the sunrise from up here before?" he asked, resting his chin against her shoulder.

She shook her head no, happy to experience it for the first time with him. The sky was beautiful, deep pinks and blues melding together into a phenomenal flow of colour. She'd seen many sunrises, and sunsets; but being together with someone so dear to her; cuddled up like they were. It was lovely.

They sat like that for some time, huddled against the cold together, occasionally kissing, rubbing their fingers against each other gently. She loved these small expressions of affection, feeling personal and secret and isolated in the best way.

"When do you go to your uncles?" he asked, and she looked down to where their hands were intertwined, feeling guilty.

Her silence confused him, and his eyebrows furrowed. "Hayami?"

"...After the festival"

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Mmhmm" leaning up instead to gently press her lips against his. She didn't have to feel like she was lying to him if she was kissing him and avoiding the topic altogether. He was so good, wholesome and enthusiastic and she knew he wouldn't understand if she were to talk about all of her connections and friends outside of Konoha; who weren't always...wholesome and good.

And she was thinking too much.

She'd not been focusing on the kiss itself, and as such hadn't ended it at all during her pondering, now becoming increasingly aware that his hands were becoming more insistant against her stomach; breath coming in pants against her lips as she pulled away. And that feeling, that sensation...well that was far more enjoyable than worrying about the possibility of him judging her for her past transgressions and less savoury friends.

She reached back towards him and he "tsked" against her lips, pointing towards the horizon and attempting to rein his pulse back in. "Sunrise - focus on it"

"But"

"No. we've come up here to watch the sunrise. You should watch it"

She chuckled, the sound becoming a near strangled yelp as his lips ever so gently found her neck, nibbling down it.

"I thought we were watching the sunrise?" she gasped, wriggling slightly as his affections affected her far too quickly.

"I come up here to think, a lot. I've seen this sun-rise many times"

She gave up fighting it, instead focusing on the sheer enjoyment of being so close to him, so away from any other humans; watching a sight as beautiful as this alongside someone as beautiful and good to her as he was. She felt bold, confident.

Incredibly nervous

It was a kind of nerves that she _knew_ she had the power to push back though; to squash into an insignificant little spec within her; like when she used to leap from buildings or slide into unbidden areas, or-

She was thinking too much again.

She gulped, squashing the nerves down, which was increasingly easy as his kisses became slightly more open mouthed and enthusiastic, and heat coiled low in her belly.

She slid her hand back, across the incredibly toned muscle of his outer thigh, and leaned back, giving him more access, twisting her head slightly so her lips were level with his ear.

" _No-ones around, are they?"_ she whispered, and he paused, pulling back rapidly and looking at her square in the eyes, shock incredibly evident on his features.

"Hayami, are you suggesting?"

"...possibly" she admitted.

He grinned, lifting her and spinning her around so she faced him, tucking her back into his coat for warmth. "I'm surprised" he laughed. "What about the sunrise?"

"We can come back?" she questioned, fighting the rising blush in her cheeks.

"I didn't know you had it in you" he beamed, pulling her tightly against him and kissing her fiercely once more. She pulled back, holding a hand between them for a second.

"Wait, wait"

He stopped immediately, without question.

"Promise me we're not going to be interrupted"

"I...promise?"

"Would you even remember if you had run into another person up here?"

"Probably"

She mulled it over for a second, thankful that his hands never strayed from a safe position on her hips, and that her own fingers had the freedom to trail gently, absentmindedly against his chest as she thought through the situation.

 _Time to cast aside the shackles of her own nerves!_ She told herself, _Time to grow as an individual!_

She snaked her hands behind his coat, pulling down the zip as her lips found his once more.

 _Time to use every once of her infiltrator experience to keep enough of her attention on their surroundings to ensure they stay safe and don't get arrested, or, given how close she was with Tsunade growing up, ensure she's not teased for the rest of her adult life._


End file.
